On Christmas Eve, a young Russian woman, very young, almost a teenager, dies in childbirth in London. In the arms of Anna, the midwife, is left with an infant and a diary, which she found in the girl’s belongings. Anna is horrified by her life story and begins her own investigation, which leads directly to the lair of the Russian mafia.

So she meets Nikolai, who helps her make sense of this tangled story. Anna and did not realize that her new acquaintance – a cruel and mysterious hitman who belongs to one of the Russian gangs in London, and the facts described in the diary, compromise his boss. Another terrifying chain of love and murder, deception and retribution is set in motion…

4k movies reviews
A very small but very proud girl, Anna stuck her nose where it didn’t belong. While on duty on her shift, a midwife delivered a baby to an unknown 14-year-old girl, who ended up dying in Anna’s arms. What was left of the girl was a diary and a newborn baby, which ended up being privatized by Anna. As it turns out, the deceased was Russian, and the protagonist finds nothing better than to go looking for the girl’s roots in the business card, as it turns out, in the lair of the Russian mafia…

The further Cronenberg shoots, the more ambiguous subjects he chooses. This time he decided to get involved with Russian lawmen, domes and coronation. A bold move in itself, for it is difficult to talk about the thieving laws of Russia while living quietly in another country. Even more interesting is the fact that the action is moved to London and there are hints of the real state of affairs in today’s world.

In some places, of course, it looks like a wild ride. It’s ridiculous. But, frankly, Cronenberg was able to penetrate the prison laws much more deeply than dozens of domestic directors. And there’s also the matter of awesome performers. In those who filled the whole strange and rare film wild energy. I’m talking, of course, about Cassel and Mortensen. The former plays an unhinged autocrat, almost like in “Shaitan,” but empowered. Vigo, on the other hand, is a reserved, cold-blooded and confident type with dozens of skeletons in his closet. We learn all this before we are shown, but still the development of this character is very fascinating.

So are many of the scenes in the picture fascinating. Remember at least a very tough and at the same time beautiful fight in the bathhouse. Naturally, our dear Cronenberg’s brutality is truthful and entertaining. Unusual. Though some of the murder scenes look garish, they also have flavor. The taste of a good chef whose specialty is cruelty.

The story, told to us by the great masters of the movie shop, sheds light on people’s attitude towards truth and responsibility for their actions. It is a film about lies, treachery and justice. The script is based on an old tale about an honest man trying to teach bad guys a lesson. It turned out to be mature and truthful. And the main surprise is not some kind of revelation for moviegoers. And at the same time, it does not derail the mood, it was needed.

The director did a glorious job with his advisors. He succeeded in recreating the Russian flavor perfectly. Even the little room where Anna and her relatives are sitting, imbued with Russian spirit. And for such pleasant trifles one can forgive the producer all the clumsiness and roughness. The only thing that can disappoint is the film’s original track, which very few people in Russia have heard yet. The movie is in full dubbing, apparently covering up many of the characters’ phrases in Russian. Let’s wait and see.

It’s a grim and appetizing movie. Cronenberg, in his tale of the Russian mafia, did not go into the abyss of criminality. He told a story about the people, also about the laws of the relationship between them. Especially the cherry on the cake is the last scene, in which someone might see a very subtle and scandalous hint… An excellent copy for your collection.

Info Blu-ray
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265 (84.8 Mb/s)
Resolution: Upscaled 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Audio
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English: Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles
English SDH.