A Russian masterpiece of tragedy, corruption, and the crushing weight of the state.
In short: Inspired by the biblical story of Job and the real-life rampage of an American bulldozer operator, Andrey Zvyagintsev’s 2014 film Leviathan explores the collision between ordinary lives and an indifferent, all-powerful state. It is a formidable, award-winning portrait of power, money, and the quirks of fate in contemporary Russia.
The film follows Nikolay Sergeyev, a mechanic in the coastal town of Pribrezhny, whose life is dismantled by a corrupt mayor seeking to expropriate his land. Despite the efforts of his lawyer friend, Dmitry, to fight the seizure, the state’s machinery proves insurmountable. The narrative draws deep parallels to the Book of Job and the story of Naboth's Vineyard, framing the protagonist’s suffering as a struggle against a modern, bureaucratic Leviathan.
Production was a massive undertaking, with filming occurring in 2013 across the Kola Peninsula, specifically in the town of Teriberka. While the film received universal critical acclaim—earning a 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and winning Best Foreign Language Film at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards—it ignited intense controversy within Russia. Thirty-five percent of its funding came from the Russian Ministry of Culture, leading to accusations that the director was either a tool of the state or, conversely, a traitor for portraying Russians as 'vodka-swigging' people.
The film’s reception highlights the polarized landscape of contemporary Russian culture. While the local Metropolitan Simon of Murmansk and Monchegorsk praised the film as 'honest,' government officials like Vladimir Medinsky criticized its lack of positive characters. The film’s ultimate fate—its house torn down and its protagonist imprisoned—serves as a grim reflection on the power dynamics between the individual and the state, a theme that resonated globally, leading to an Academy Award nomination at the 87th Academy Awards.
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