Leviathan

Pointedly illustrating the old adage that you can't fight city hall, Andrey Zvyagintsev's Oscar-nominated film draws on the Book of Job and the writings of Thomas Hobbes to deliver a satirical, dark, and bitter commentary on how absolute power not only corrupts absolutely but also smashes those who resist it in contemporary Russia. Leviathan centers on a property dispute between the local mayor and an irascible landholder in a remote northwest area. A hot-tempered mechanic nicknamed Kolya (Aleksey Serebryakov) lives in a family lakeside house (that has long been in the family) with his rebellious son and a much younger wife. When the mayor moves to seize the property for development—using eminent domain and manipulating the tribunals that decide such matters—Kolya asks for aid from an old army buddy, now a lawyer in Moscow. Although the lawyer promisingly threatens to expose the mayor's many misdeeds to officials in the Kremlin, he also sleeps with Kolya's wife, causing a domestic rupture that will ultimately give the mayor the opportunity to take the perversion of justice to an even higher level. A modern-day Job story that pits one man against an all-powerful regime that is guided by greed and self-interest, this is highly recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Andrey Zvyagintsev and producer Alexander Rodnyansky, a “making-of” featurette (30 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are deleted scenes (22 min.) and a Toronto International Film Festival Q&A with Zvyagintsev. Bottom line: a fine extras package for this excellent Oscar nominee.] (F. Swietek)