Dead Man's Bluff

A 2005 Russian black comedy and crime film directed by Aleksei Balabanov. The plot transports the audience to 1995 in Nizhny Novgorod, where anarchy and violence prevail amidst the emergence of the free market. The main characters are two young thugs, Semyon nicknamed "Simon" (Dmitry Dyuzhev) and Sergei (Aleksei Panin), working for local crime boss Sergei Mikhailovich (Nikita Mikhalkov), who controls the city's drug trade. Mikhalych assigns them to extort protection money from a drug lab, but the mission turns into a bloody mess when Simon kills everyone present. To make amends, they take the drugs and return to Mikhalych, who is furious at their incompetence. He gives them a new task — to exchange a suitcase of money for five kilograms of heroin. Along the way, they meet an old friend, fellow gangster Kaban (Yuriy Stepanov), who advises them to leave the criminal life and move to Moscow. However, their mission becomes complicated as other criminal groups, such as the trio of gangsters Koron (Sergey Makovetskiy), Bala (Anatoly Zhuravlyov), and Baklazhan (Grigory Siyatvinda), as well as corrupt policeman Stepan (Viktor Sukhorukov), attempt to intercept the deal. The situation spirals out of control, leading to a series of absurd and bloody events that reflect the chaos and lawlessness of 1990s Russia. The film is rich in dark humor and satire on the criminal reality of the post-Soviet era, featuring cameos by prominent Russian actors, such as Aleksei Serebryakov as Doctor, Garik Sukachov as Brain, Andrey Panin as Architect, Renata Litvinova as waitress and secretary Katya, among others. "Dead Man's Bluff" portrays a grim and grotesque picture of Russia's 90s criminal underworld, highlighting the absurdity and brutality of that time.