Sergei Bodrov Jr. Movies

Chechen guerilla leader Aslan (Georgi Gurgulia) holds captive two touring actors, John (Ian Kelly) and his fiancée, Margaret (Ingeborga Dapkunaite), along with an injured Russian Captain Medvedev (Sergei Bodrov Jr.) and his sergeant, Ivan (Alexei Chadov). Aslan sets John free to return to Britain and Ivan free to return to Russia; however, he informs John that he must raise ransom money or else Margaret will be gang-raped and killed. John tries frantically to raise the necessary funds, but can only get a fraction of what he needs; meanwhile, he agrees to document his life with a digital camera to make more money. He contacts Ivan for help and they cross the Caucasus and return to Chechnya with a mission to rescue Margaret and Captain Medvedev. ~ Todd Kristel, Rovi

Son of acclaimed Russian director Sergei Bodrov and a popular actor in his own right, Sergei Bodrov Jr. makes his directorial debut with this drama about a pair of sisters thrown together by circumstances. Aged eight and 13, the two half siblings are hardly aware of the others' existence and couldn't live more separate lives. The younger sister lives with her mobster father in a life of luxury including private tutors, music lessons, and fine clothing. The elder, on the other hand, lives with her ailing grandmother and is forced by necessity to take on adult obligations far beyond her years. When a contract is put out on their father's head, the younger sibling finds herself in danger and believes that the only person she can trust is her long lost older sister. Soon a strong bond develops between the two as they flee for their lives. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

French director Regis Wargnier's fifth feature film is a romantic period drama which is also a tribute to the victims of a tragic Stalinist episode. In June 1946, Stalin launched a major propaganda campaign aimed at Russians who had settled in the West, offering them amnesty and an opportunity to be involved in the postwar restructuring of the USSR. Many people who believed Stalin and returned home were executed, interned, or subjected to repression. The protagonist of Est-Ouest, Alexei Golovin (Oleg Menshikov), takes his young French wife Marie (Sandrine Bonnaire) and son Serioja with him on the long journey back to his native land that he has missed so much. On the board of the steamship taking them to Odessa, people like them celebrate the new life that they anticipate. However, reality strikes when they reach shore. Many people are immediately executed or sent to work camps. Alexei is spared to use his skill as an accomplished doctor. He is sent to Kiev to work in a dispensary and live in a communal apartment. Alexei accepts his fate but Marie dreams of escaping to freedom. Opportunity comes her way when she meets Gabrielle Develay (Catherine Deneuve), a famous French actress on tour, passing through Kiev. Tension mounts as the relationship of Alexei and Marie is put to test. For the script of this co-production between France and Russia, Wargnier had three other collaborators: Louis Gardel, who had previously collaborated with Wargnier on Indochine; Sergei Bodrov, a well-known Russian filmmaker best-known for his award winning S.E.R. and The Prisoner of the Mountains; and Azeri scriptwriter Rustam Ibragimbekov, best remembered for his scripts of Nikita Mikhalkov films. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

Young Russian Danila returns home after serving a two-year military stint and discovers that his big brother has become a hit man for mobsters in St. Petersburg and is deeply involved in a Mafia war. Wanting to help, Danila joins the mobsters to become his brother Viktor's assistant. Aimed a younger audiences, this ironic thriller follows Danila's adventures after he successfully completes his first assignment, the murder of The Chechen, a prominent crimelord. During the hit, Danila is wounded and ends up taken care of by a man known only as the German. Meanwhile The Chechen's men are in hot pursuit. Even though Danila spends the bulk of his time trying to avoid them, he also finds a few moments to have a couple of brief love affairs. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi