Dir. Pavel Lounguine. Russia/France. 128mins.

Pavel Lounguine's latest chronicle of the new Russia must have had many of this country's high and mighty squirming on their seats - that is if they still care at all about their reputation. A major hit at home and a festival staple last year, Lounguine's adaptation of Yuli Dubov's novel deals with events in a way that is often uncomfortably close to the real facts as reported by the media. This sarcastic thriller ties together high finances, political shenanigans at the top and ruthless crime at the bottom in a package delivered at breakneck speed. While using fictitious names and dates, it leaves very little doubt for those in the know about the identity of the real incidents and heroes. But Longuine's ambitious telegraphic style, shot with nervous, precise camera movements inspired by US genre movies and cut to bare essentials, means that knowledge of post-communist Russian history is necessary to savour it, and will thereby limit its overseas potential. (Flache Pyramide, which also has sales rights, releases the film in France on Feb 26.) One thing, however, is perfectly clear: the new Russia is not really Lounguine's cup of tea.

Platon Makovski, a maverick economist, and four similarly brilliant, irreverent friends, decide, upon the fall of the communism, to quit academics and apply their far-fetched theories to real-life schemes. Soon money rolls their way, as their actions touch on every aspect of Russian life, taking in industry, the media, politics and the war in Chechnya. They shore up their positions by putting half the politicans on their payroll, as well as recruiting the Georgian mafia and unemployed war veterans into their business.

When the old-fashioned Kremlin apparatchiks balk at their insufficient share of the graft, the partners prepare to shut them up by having their own stooge elected for President, at the same time acquiring a TV channel to bludgeon opponents into submission.

Starting at its conclusion, with the collapse of the Makovski empire and his assassination, Lounguine's tale goes between past and present. The investigation by two policemen, one crooked and on his way up, the other honest and on his way down, is used to dig into the rise and fall of the Makovski legend, revealing an apocalyptic world rotten to the core, bereft of any sense of morals, ethics or simple decency. By comparison, Puzo and Coppola's Corleone dynasty, often mentioned as an inspiration, seem surprisingly modest with their terribly outdated codes of conduct.

Led by one of Russia's superstars, Vladimir Mashkov, who plays Makovski with all the self-confidence of a born leader who never doubts his own superiority, the large cast is unusually effective, a perfect fit in every respect and in every role. The staccato delivery spiced with one-two punch lines leaves just enough time to exploit their authoritative screen presence - which they all have in abundance.

Prod cos: CDP, Arte France Cinema, Gimages Films, Network Movie, ZDF Arte, Magnat, Cominter, Etalon Film Studios
Int'l sales: Flach Pyramide International
Prod: Catherine Dussart, Vladimir Grigoriev
Scr: A Borodianski, Pavel Lounguine, Yuli Dubov, based on Dubov's novel
Cinematography: Alexey Fedorov, Oleg Dobronravov
Ed: Sophie Brunet
Music: Leonid Diesyatnikov
Main cast: Vladimir Mashkov, Andrei Krasko, Maria Mironova, Sergei Oshkevich, Alexander Samoilenko, Mikael Vasserbaum, Levani Uchaineshvili, Marat Basharov, Alexander Baluev