Known for Acting
Biography of the most famous Russian chansonnier of the twentieth century. The story of the artist who left Russia in 1919 and returned to the USSR in 1943, in the midst of World War II. Vertinsky lived, sang and was popular in Constantinople, Paris, Berlin, New York, Los Angeles, Harbin, Shanghai and Moscow. He was loved by beautiful women, he was applauded by royalty and thieves. He was a bohemian man, light and cheerful. However, this picture is primarily about his kindness. About the ability not to judge, but to regret, to sympathize with anyone. And for this, fate gifted him with great success and late family happiness. This is a story about how a songbird, an artist, a frivolous creature can live a life that causes both envy and respect.
Russian Empire, 1919. By a twist of fate, young idealist Osip Zadunaisky meets an infamous con artist and self-proclaimed Turkish subject Ibrahim Bender. A man of pure thought and aristocratic upbringing, Osip would never have associated with a cunning and unscrupulous swindler, but Bender comes up with an offer Osip cannot refuse. A precious royal relic, a diamond-encrusted golden scepter is hidden somewhere in town; Bender needs a partner on his mission to find it, and offers Osip a share of the profit from selling the treasure. And so begins their joint venture, wrought with comical and dangerous twists and turns, where they have to outsmart and outmaneuver officers of the White Guard as well as the local mafia, who also have their eyes on the scepter. As their quest unfolds, Osip is compelled to learn Bender’s tricks of the trade: charming flattery, delicate deception, soft intimidation... as well as brute force.
Contemporary Russia. After he flubs a penalty kick, a humiliated national soccer player quits the game. He flees to a small town, where he decides to coach their local team.
A story of a successful businessman who falls in love with a silent movies actress and starts to look everywhere for a woman who looks exactly like her.
