Zhmurki (2005)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Aleksey Balabanov

Writers:

Aleksey Balabanov (writer)
Stas Mokhnachev (writer)

Release Date:

2 June 2005 (Russia)

Genre:

Comedy | Thriller

Tagline:

For those who survived the 90s

Plot:

Sergei and Simon have to deliver a suitcase full of heroin to Mikhalych or else they will be killed...

Plot Keywords:

Heroin | Shot In The Head | Black Comedy | Racial Slur | Russian Mafia

Cast

Aleksei Panin	...	Sergei
Dmitriy Dyuzhev	...	Simon
Nikita Mikhalkov	...	Sergei Mikhajlovich
Sergei Makovetsky	...	Koron
Viktor Sukhorukov	...	Stepan
Dmitri Pevtsov	...	Lawyer
Kirill Pirogov	...	Executioner
Aleksey Serebryakov	...	Doctor
Andrei Merzlikin	...	Referent / Mikhalych's Assistant
Yuri Stepanov	...	Kaban
Grigoriy Siyatvinda	...	Eggplant
Anatoli Zhuravlyov	...	Bala
Garik Sukachyov	...	Brain
Andrey Panin	...	Architect
Aleksandr Bashirov	...	Man Tied to the Chair

Also Known As:

Жмурки (Russia)
Blind Man's Bluff (USA)
Kavardak (Russia) (working title)
Untitled Aleksei Balabanov Project (Russia) (working title)

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

Russia

Language:

Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

Nizhny Novgorod, Russia

Company:

Kinokompaniya CTB

Trivia:

Approximately 50 liters of fake blood were used in the film.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The many continuity lapses and other apparent technical errors are a matter of deliberate stylistic choice in this pastiche of 1990s Russian-Mafia movies.

Quotes:

Simon: Let's kill the negro. I don't like them.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Pulp Fiction (1994)

Godlike!

This is truly the best Russuian movie since Brat 2. It is very realistic, bloody, and it precisely depicts one of the most dramatical episodes of the history of the modern Russia. Directing is flawless, the usual Balabanov style rocks. Acting is just superb, especially part by Dmirty Dyzhev, who played psycho hit-man - the new version of fairy-tale folk hero Ivan. All other parts, even the smallest ones, are played by the top Russian actors - Nikita Mihalkov, Viktor Sukhorukov, Andrej Merzlikin, Sergei Makovetskij, you name them. The movie has tons of black humor, but the best episode is the one, in which gangsters with "strategic vision" become member of the Russian Parliament, and those without it lose everything. The soundtrack, consisting of Russian gangster-era pop and alternative, is just as good as OST from "Brat 2". So, to sum up - a true modern masterpiece!