Elena (2011)

When a sudden illness and an unexpected reunion threaten dutiful housewife Elena's potential inheritance, she must hatch a desperate plan ...

Director:

Andrey Zvyagintsev

Writers:

Andrey Zvyagintsev, Oleg Negin (screenplay)

Stars:

Nadezhda Markina, Andrey Smirnov, Elena Lyadova

11 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Nadezhda Markina	...	Elena
Andrey Smirnov	...	Vladimir
Elena Lyadova	...	Katerina
Aleksey Rozin	...	Sergey
Evgeniya Konushkina	...	Tatyana
Igor Ogurtsov	...	Aleksandr
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Igor Yurtaev

Storyline

Elena and Vladimir are an older couple, they come from different backgrounds. Vladimir is a wealthy and cold man, Elena comes from a modest milieu and is a docile wife. They have met late in life and each one has children from previous marriages. Elena's son is unemployed, unable to support his own family and he is constantly asking Elena for money. Vladimir's daughter is a careless young woman who has a distant relationship with her father. A heart attack puts Vladimir in hospital, where he realizes that his remaining time is limited. A brief but somehow tender reunion with his daughter leads him to make an important decision: she will be the only heiress of his wealth. Back home he announces it to Elena. Her hopes to financially help her son suddenly vanish. The shy and submissive housewife then comes up with a plan to give her son and grandchildren a real chance in life.

---

Plot Keywords:

hospital | heart attack | will | murder of husband | class differences | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Russia

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

29 September 2011 (Russia)

Also Known As:

Jelena

Filming Locations:

Biryulyovo, Vostochnoye District, Moscow, Russia

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$9,035 (USA) (18 May 2012)

Gross:

$228,239 (USA) (28 September 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Non-Stop Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Discussing which profession Vladimir could have had in the past, Andrey Zvyagintsev and Andrey Smirnov presupposed an elderly rich man from today's Russia could have been a security officer from the KGB, or a functionary of Komsomol (the youth division of the Soviet communist party), or a scientist who went into business after the Soviet Union collapse. They decided Vladimir should be a scientist because Smirnov didn't look like the other two types.

---

Connections

Referenced in Palace (2012)

User Reviews

Story and characters very believable

A rich older man Vladamir married to a middle aged woman Elena has a heart attack and reveals he is going to leave everything to his unsympathetic daughter. He has refused to help Elena's family. Elena alters fate in her favor.

In a movie like this character development is everything and the actors in this movie carry it off flawlessly. Vladamir and Elena are both very believable. Elena is not only believable but a sympathetic character and you are glad she does what she does.

If a movies success is measured by is the plot believable and do you care about the characters and will you remember them...this movie succeeds beautifully. In addition the whole atmosphere and ancillary characters are perfect in this.

RECOMMEND