christopher_lord

This peculiar production, set in St Petersburg, seems to have been executed with American money and an American script and director by Lithuanians, both as actors (but not in the lead parts) and as technicians. (A Lithuanian film studio seems to have been involved.) This gives an odd effect. The Lithuanian actors are authentically Soviet, but not in fact authentically Russian, and give a disarmingly provincial feel to what is supposed to be a story about the extremely un-provincial Russian mafia. The stars never break sweat as they float through a story so absurd that they don't seem to think it is worth pretending they are taking it seriously, but I enjoyed this film on balance. (The leads make an attractive if ultimately unconvincing couple.) Non-Russians pretending to be Russian gangsters is always a dodgy proposition, and the Lithuanians don't do much better on that score than other contenders; but the extensive location shooting in St Petersburg does give the atmosphere of that city and of Russia today, and the parts shot in Vilnius are consistent with the post-Soviet look of the main location. Reminded me of a Canadian/Latvian production, Red Hot, which had the same important element of some genuine Soviet (post-Soviet in this case) atmosphere: something most attempts at genre Russian gangster films fail at completely.