Dead Man's Bluff on AllMovie

Russian director Aleksei Balabanov satirizes the greed-oriented mindset of the heavily democratized former Soviet Union by implementing the hyper-stylized, self-conscious antics of such filmmakers as Quentin Tarantino and Guy Richie in a stinging farce exploring the true liberties of the free-market on the streets of modern day Russia. Brawny Simon (Dmitri Dyuzhev) and brainy Sergei (Aleksei Panin) are two siblings with a sure hand for assassination and an unwavering loyalty to sadistic Russian kingpin Mikhailovich (Oscar-winning Burnt by the Sun director Nikita Mikhalknow). When the brothers botch an important drug deal and a collection of murderous cops make off with the heroin originally intended for their powerful boss, Mikhailovich warns Simon and Sergei that the crucial mistake could cost them their lives. Now charged with the task of recovering the valuable stash in brutal landscape where the difference between bloodthirsty gangsters and crooked cops is often little more than a badge, Simon and Sergei unwittingly kick-start a desperate turf war that sets the streets afire with brutality.