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By Cameron Cubbison · October 21, 2014
Andrey Zvyagintsev's Leviathan is making an impression right now as a film that hits hard and blindsides the audience. This is a well told Russian story that features the themes of deep-seeded political corruption and the rising of a community to fight that force. Zvyagintsev previously co-wrote and directed 2011's Elena, which featured one "unique" housewife willing to do anything to change what happened to her. Andrey's films are cold and chilling with none of the fluffy fat left on the bone – just the way we like it. See below a more detailed plot description for Leviathan.
"On the outskirts of a small coastal town in the Barents Sea, where whales sometimes come to its bay, lives an ordinary family: Nikolai (Aleksey Serebryakov), his wife Lilya (Elena Lyadova) and their teenage son Romka. The family is haunted by a local corrupted mayor (Roman Madyanov), who is trying to take away the land, a house and a small auto repair shop from Nikolai. To save their homes Nikolai calls his old Army friend in Moscow (Vladimir Vdovichenkov), who has now become an authoritative attorney. Together they decide to fight back and collect dirt on the mayor." (Via)