The Half Life of Timofey Berezin (2006)

A worker at a Russian nuclear facility gets exposed to a lethal dose of radiation. In order to provide for his family, he steals some plutonium and sets out to sell it on Moscow's black market with the help of an incompetent criminal.

Director:

Scott Z. Burns

Writers:

Scott Z. Burns (screenplay), Ken Kalfus (short story "PU-239")

Stars:

Paddy Considine, Oscar Isaac, Valeriu Pavel Dan

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paddy Considine	...	Timofey
Oscar Isaac	...	Shiv
Valeriu Pavel Dan	...	Red Army Hero
Kenneth Bryans	...	Prusokov
Radha Mitchell	...	Marina
Danya Baryshnikov	...	Tolya
Connor McIntyre	...	Facility Director
Derek Hutchinson	...	Facility Deputy
Jason Flemyng	...	Vlad
Jordan Long	...	Yegor
Xenia Alina Grigore	...	Lap Girl
Mélanie Thierry	...	Oxsana
Constantin Barbulescu	...	Dmitri
Oana Cojocaru	...	Svetlana
Stefan Iancu	...	Andrei

Storyline

In Russia, the technician and family man Timofey is exposed to 1,000 REMs (Roentgen Equivalent Man) of radiation in the nuclear facility where he works. The facility director hides the level of exposure from Timofey and tries to force him to assume the blame for the accident and puts Timofey on unpaid leave. Aware that the exposure is lethal and feeling the sickness of radiation, Timofey steals 100 mg of plutonium and heads to Moscow expecting to sell it on the black market for US$ 30,000.00 to give to his wife Marina and his seven year-old son Tolya. Meanwhile, the small-time criminal Shiv and the gangsters Vlad and Yegor need to pay US$ 6,000.00 to the powerful mobster Starkov in 72 hours. When Shiv meets Timofey trying to sell the Pu-239, he sees the chance to pay his debts and make some money. But he is incompetent and gets in trouble with powerful mobsters.

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Plot Keywords:

british actor playing foreigner | nuclear | danger | french actor playing foreigner | plutonium | 

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Taglines:

His family's future depends on one unstable element.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, violence, sexual content and brief drug use

Did You Know?

Quotes

Timofey: [voiceover] I have been thinking about what hurts more: the jar or the pins. And I think I can tell you that it is not the pins. Because the monarch in the jar is already dead when it comes to the pins. At some point things stop hurting; and from inside the jar, with eyes that see in all directions, maybe it is possible to look into the future, well beyond the pins, to where the compass in your head tells you that you need to go.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits of the movie are presented in English. The letters cast a shadow in dark red, which provide the same information as the English credits, but in Russian.

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Soundtracks

Tanya
Written by Armen Grigoryan (as Armen S. Grigoryan)
Performed by Krematoriy

User Reviews

Dark and Depressive Story

In Russia, the technician and family man Timofey (Paddy Considine) is exposed to 1,000 REMS (Radiation Exposure Monitoring Systems) of radiation in the nuclear facility where he works. The facility director hides the level of exposure from Timofey and tries to force him to assume the blame for the accident and puts Timofey in unpaid leave.

Aware that the exposure is lethal and feeling the sickness of radiation, Timofey steals 100 mg of plutonium and heads to Moscow expecting to sell it in the black market per US$ 30,000.00 to give to his wife Marina (Radha Mitchell) and his seven year-old son Tolya (Danya Baryshnikov).

Meanwhile, the smalltime criminal Shiv (Oscar Isaac) and the gangsters Vlad (Jason Flemyng) and Yegor (Jordan Long) need to pay US$ 6,000.00 to the powerful mobster Starkov (Steven Berkoff) in 72 hours. When Shiv meets Timofey trying to sell the PU-239, he sees the chance to pay his debts and make some money. But he is incompetent and gets in trouble with powerful mobsters.

"PU-239" is a dark and depressive story about a family man that is exposed to lethal doses of radiation. His desperation with his situation leads him to try to raise money to improve the lives of his wife and his son selling plutonium that he has stolen from the nuclear plant. But his useless associate is unable to sell the good. The result is tragic and ironic, with a questionable black humor, in a weird combination of drama and comedy. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "PU-239"

Details

Official Sites:

HBO [United States] HBO [United States]

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 September 2006 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Pu-239

Filming Locations:

Romania

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Films, Beacon Pictures, Section Eight

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1