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Sergei Gregoriev is a high ranking KGB analyst in 1981 Moscow, wonderfully played by the Serbian film director Emir Kusturica. Sergei is dissatisfied with the Communist system and the cronyism of its leader Brezhnev and in an attempt to finally take down the regime, he decides to begin leaking information of the most sensitive kind to the West. His contact of choice? A young French businessman working in Moscow, Pierre Froment played by the director Canet. Making contact and gradually befriending Pierre, Sergei passes secrets which Pierre passes to French Intelligence and ultimately to Presidents Francois Mitterand and Ronald Reagan. The secrets were so valuable that it could only be seen at the highest level. Motivated only by ideology, Sergei only asks for some Queen tapes for his rebellious young son and a Sony Walkman. Of course as the stakes get higher, it becomes harder and harder for the two men to remain undetected as they pushed to breaking point. Like all the best espionage tales, this has a thrilling though poignant conclusion and asks questions of the lengths individuals will go for freedom.
The film is highly atmospheric, capturing the look and style of life under the Soviet system in the early 80's with some beautiful camera work of the city. The story it tells is a highly compelling one, so implausible it is amazing to find it a true story. Indeed, it is highly entertaining to see the extent to which the Russians has wormed their way into the heart of the American government. This is not your typical spy movie then, it is much more in the style of a John Le Carre thriller, with a lot of emphasis on the atmospherics and the minute details with less emphasis on action. The ending when it comes is not unexpected though sad all the same.
The regular references to the passing of intelligence between Reagan and Mitterand is useful, it lets you know how big an operation this was. Reagan is ably played by Fred Ward, while their is an icy turn from Willem Dafoe as the Head of the CIA. In reality the actions of Sergei did have the desired effect. His intelligence led to the destruction of the Soviet spy network in the US, and when Reagan announced his "Star Wars" initiative, the Soviets were in the blind and it forced Gorbachev to come to the Reykjavík Summit with no inside information and begin negotiations that eventually culminated in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty a year later.
A very enjoyable film and an important story at the same time. It was because of the efforts of men like Sergei that the Cold War came to a conclusion, with the threat of Nuclear annihilation no longer hanging over the people of the world. Well worth a look.
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