Armand it is realistic and for Eastern public, full of memories. because it is not only a Russian story. it is the story of a period. pictures from transition to democracy, images about solutions after Communism, fight for power, success and fall. if it is a Russian slice from victory of a new generation, in same measure it is a beautiful film. action, love, friendship and old emotion of East. politic, crime and poetry. and interesting acting, smart script - not a surprise for the director of Ostrov. it is a special film for its flavor of atmosphere. common at first sigh, it represents a form of testimony and reflection of a dark reality who makes deep difference between East and West Europe.

parahumanoid This movie is very Russian. It's not intended for foreigners and will never work as an international film. You have to have lived there, to have feared to go out of the house after nightfall because of street shootings and grenades blowing up offices in a market sharing war of various mafia groups. You have to understand what a "thief in law" (вор в законе)means as a concept (a concept rather vague even to most Russians - and no, this concept is not what it sounds like literally, don't be misled that the term speaks for itself), you have to be able to relate to a bright person who found himself in a dog-eat-dog reality where intelligence alone isn't enough to sustain basic survival. This movie is GREATLY about being able to read the Russian reality between the lines. If you weren't there, you most likely won't get it and will join the thong of those who give this movie anything below 8/10 with comments about underdeveloped characters. Trust me, they are very well developed, you just don't get it, can't read between the lines. It's sort of like saying that Joyce's "Ulysses" is boring and conceded: most just don't get it.

snake77 "Tycoon" may not succeed as a political film or piece of social criticism, but I don't think it was meant be those things. "Tycoon" was obviously meant to be first and foremost an interesting, entertaining crime drama, and on this count I think it succeeds marvelously. It has timeless themes: loyalty, betrayal, greed, envy, power, love, lust. To me the fact that it is based on the 1990's Russian oligarchs is almost secondary. It's more like a good war movie - the time and place is really just a setting, a backdrop used to tell a good story. The script is beautifully structured, the actors all give terrific performances, the direction is understated and confident. Unexpected things happen, scenes jump back and forth through time, and the pacing is excellent. Even though it's got the "a gangster's life" story arc (similar to The Godfather, Casino and the hugely overrated Scarface) in which the risks are taken, trusts made and broken, beautiful women seduced, liquor poured, bullets sprayed, etc., from scene to scene you aren't quite sure exactly who will do what. It holds your interest from beginning to end. No doubt there is a great documentary to be made about the rise and fall of the actual oligarchs or "New Russians", one which could tie together with great detail the entire true story. But "Tycoon" isn't that film, and I think it's arguable that it's better because if it.

jfseignol A good movie about modern Russia. Two major problems, imho :1) The desire of shooting "nice pictures" is often too invasive in the movie, it makes all the story too heavy, too dramatic2) The financial aspect, the "how they succedd in conning people (and state)" is too quickly described. I'd rather had got more explanations.But, despite its duration (more than 2 hours), this movie stays very interesting.