Zhmurki

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zhmurki
Russian DVD cover
Directed by	Aleksei Balabanov
Written by	Aleksei Balabanov Stas Mokhnachev
Starring	Nikita Mikhalkov Dmitrij Djuzhev Aleksej Panin
Release date(s)	2005
Running time	105 min.
Country	Russia
Language	Russian
IMDb profile

Zhmurki (Russian: Жмурки, En. Blind Man's Buff) is a Molotov cocktail of gruesome carnage, eccentric characters, and off-beat humor.

What happens when the director who brought you Brat and Brat 2 decides to mock the Russian gangster movie genre he created? The answer is Zhmurki (aka Dead Man's Bluff) directed by Aleksei Balabanov.

This movie is on par with Goodfellas and Pulp Fiction, only with the Russian flavor. Lots of black humor and totally unreal scenes involving scores of revolting characters that leave no chance to those who insist that Russia is a civilized society. The language is totally funny without being centered on minute nuances and should be almost just as funny in translation.

Director Aleksei Balabanov uses "uniformly ace" (Variety) cameo performances, by Russia's most prominent actors, to send up both the greed-is-good mentality of the newly democratized former Soviet Union and the self-conscious Quentin Tarantino/Guy Ritchie-style crime films of the 90's. This ferocious farce suggest that on the mean free-market streets of modern day Russia, the only real liberty is the freedom to kill. Approximately 50 liters of fake blood were used in the film.

The stars of the film include famous Russian actors such as Nikita Mikhalkov, Dmitrij Djuzhev, Aleksej Panin, Sergej Makovetskij, Igor Sukachev, Viktor Sukhorukov, and Renata Litvinova.

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The film opens with a group of teenagers sitting in a Russian classroom. The teacher tells them that "start-up capital is what begins everything - with it, you can start a business and multiply your investment many times over. The key thing is how to get it..."

The movie then flashes back to a Russian town outside Moscow in "the 90s" where we meet two bratvas, Simon and Sergei. (In addition to a few scenes in Moscow, the film was shot in Tver, the city formerly known as Kalinin, and Nizhniy Novgorod, the city known as Gorky in Soviet times). These small time hoodlums are working for the local mob boss, Sergei Mikhailovich (played by Nikita Mikhailkov, best known to American audiences for his work in Burnt by the Sun). Unfortunately, neither gangster is very bright and trouble ensues when they are ripped off by a corrupt cop and another gang of dimwits.

Sergei and Simon have to deliver a suitcase full of heroin to Mikhalych or else they will be killed. There is one minor detail: the only problem-solving technique they are familiar with is a shot in the head. There are more than 20 Russian-movie stars in the film, but you will not be able to recognize them immediately since they are all in disguise.