Elena
Sixtyish, uneducated Elena (Nadezhda Markina) shares a spaciously luxurious city-center apartment – but not a bed – with her older husband, Vladimir (Andrei Smirnov).
(...) Elena only comes alive when she treks cross-city to visit with her son Sergei and his family in their cramped, crumbling quarters. Unemployed, slobbish Sergei relies on Elena for cash handouts, which Vladimir grudgingly tolerates as he provides similar assistance to his wild-child daughter Katya. But when extra money is needed to ensure Sergei's son Sasha dodges the army draft in favor of an (undeserved) university place, Vladimir refuses, compelling Elena towards drastic action.
Andrey Dergachev's sound-design is one of numerous superb behind-the-camera aspects here, along with the location scouting, Mikhail Krichman's precise widescreen cinematography and, most memorably, Philip Glass's score. [S]tylish 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. While claustrophobically specific in its attention to detail, the film has wider, damning implications for Russian society and beyond.
Neil Young, The Hollywood Reporter
Duration: 109 min
Dialogue: Russian
Subtitles: English
Age limit: K15
