“A tight domestic drama that grips at every step” - Variety
Sixtyish, uneducated Elena (Nadezhda Markina, who resembles an older, doughier Frances McDormand) shares a luxurious city-centre apartment – but not a bed – with her older husband, Vladmir (Andrei Smirnov). The pair met a decade before when Elena was a nurse and wealthy Vladimir her patient. Now she’s as much caretaker as spouse, the daily grind visible on her wrinkled face and shoulder-slumped frame.
Elena only comes alive when she treks cross-city to visit her son Sergei (Alexsey Rozin) and his family in their cramped, crumbling quarters. Unemployed, slobbish Sergei relies on Elena for cash handouts, which Vladimir grudgingly tolerates. But when extra money is needed to ensure Sergei’s son Sasha (Igor Ogurtsov) dodges the army draft, Vladimir refuses, compelling Elena towards drastic action.
Andrey Dergachev’s sound-design is one of numerous superb behind-the-camera aspects here, along with Mikhail Krichman’s precise widescreen cinematography and Philip Glass’s score. These stylish touches are firmly at the service of a story which reminds us that blood is usually thicker than water and that (Russian) crime doesn’t always lead to punishment. - Neil Young, The Hollywood Reporter
