I had been wanting to see this film for years. I heard so many things about it. Well I just saw it and it's wonderful. Mortensen hit all the right notes with this performance. The other cast members were good as well.
The story was not that original but that didn't matter. I've seen this movie before many times, as it had elements from many organized crime movies. The brutal father, the sniveling unworthy son and the son's best friend who knows all to well what the son is. I saw what Nikolai was early on in the film and not so subtle clues pointed to the fact that he was an undercover agent. His displeasure at the father for calling the current FSB the KGB pretty much gave it away right there.
The fight scene in the shower was one of the most realistic fights I've seen on film. Fights in the movies are usually very macho and pretty. This fight in the sauna was ugly, sloppy and gory. The hero barely escaped with his life and wound up in the hospital. This is usually the case when knives are involved. In many movies the hero gets cut and just keeps on going like he didn't lose any blood.
I was a bit disappointed with the ending. While it tied everything up nicely, it didn't have the payoff I was expecting.
I would recommend this film to anyone who likes gangster movies.
The story was not that original but that didn't matter. I've seen this movie before many times, as it had elements from many organized crime movies. The brutal father, the sniveling unworthy son and the son's best friend who knows all to well what the son is. I saw what Nikolai was early on in the film and not so subtle clues pointed to the fact that he was an undercover agent. His displeasure at the father for calling the current FSB the KGB pretty much gave it away right there.
The fight scene in the shower was one of the most realistic fights I've seen on film. Fights in the movies are usually very macho and pretty. This fight in the sauna was ugly, sloppy and gory. The hero barely escaped with his life and wound up in the hospital. This is usually the case when knives are involved. In many movies the hero gets cut and just keeps on going like he didn't lose any blood.
I was a bit disappointed with the ending. While it tied everything up nicely, it didn't have the payoff I was expecting.
I would recommend this film to anyone who likes gangster movies.