Leviathan

2014 • 141 minutes

About this movie

Kolya lives in a small town near the Barents Sea, in northern Russia. He has his own auto-repair shop. His shop stands right next to the house where he lives with his young wife Lilya and his son from a previous marriage Roma. Vadim Shelevyat, the Mayor of the town, wants to take away his business, his house and his land. First he tries buying off Kolya, but Kolya cannot stand losing everything he has, not only the land, but also all the beauty that has surrounded him from the day of his birth. So Vadim Shelevyat starts being more aggressive...

Ratings and reviews

Very gloomy even for Russia. I don't know how realistic it is, for most of russians it will look exotic - except of drinking and corruption.

Leviathan is long, slow and rather bleak. And yet, it is also rather compelling. Cracking cinematography as well.

Brilliant depiction of a battle between a typical citizen and corrupt local government bureaucrats in a small town in Russia.