Kolia runs a motor shop in a small town near the Barents Sea, in North Russia. To his shock, he discovers one day that his land is to be sanctioned for the purpose of “community development”. Hidden beneath the surface is the secret intention of the greedy local mayor, Vadim, who is set on grabbing Kolia’s land for himself. Kolia calls in a favor from an ex-army buddy, Dimitri, to file a lawsuit. Unfortunately, underneath Kolia’s present predicament that would change his life forever, lies even bigger corruption. Winning the award for Best Screenplay at Cannes Film Festival, Andrei Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan is a true must-see of this year. Just like the director’s previous works including his feature debut The Return(2003), winner of the Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival in 2003, the film portrays the brutal realities of contemporary Russian society after perestroika by juxtaposing corruption and capitalist desires prevalent in the society with Russia’s traditional thoughts and sensibilities. Mikhail Krichman’s camera sublimates the landscape into a character in itself and the magical soundtrack by Philip Glass complements Zvyagintsev’s microcosm to perfection. (Jin PARK)