Angel on the Right

From the former Soviet Socialist Republic of Tajikistan, Angel on the Right is a modest comedy of errors (with some dark drama around the edges) that begins when a troubled gangster named Hamro (Maruf Pulodzoda) returns to his home village in Tajikistan after 10 years in Moscow spent keeping a low profile and avoiding old debts and enemies. He's returned under the impression that his tradition-bound mother is dying, when in fact she's conspired with the locals to lure him back to make amends with those who've labeled him a “bandit” for having so many unpaid bills. If his mother's actions weren't disorienting enough, Hamro also discovers a 10-year-old son he never knew he had, and the weight of all this bad karma spurs a crisis of conscience and a turning point. According to an Islamic folk legend, we all have two angels on our shoulders: the one on the left keeps track of our bad deeds, while the one on the right monitors our good, and as this film's title suggests, Hamro's future will be determined by his “angel on the right,” if he can make up for past misdeeds. Under the direction of Djamshed Usmonov (who used his Tajik home village and many close friends and family members as actors), this charming yet decidedly unsentimental fable is a worthwhile addition for larger foreign film collections. Recommended. (J. Shannon)