I recently watched Brother (BRAT) and was intrigued enough by it to want to see other movies directed by Bodrov Sr (they both also star Bodrov Jr.)These movies are quirky--this one showed the decadent disintegration of a gangster and his family. Having a cockroach exterminator get rid of the gangster was kind of nice touch--these highly personal quirky odd movies are fun if well done. This one is well done. I especially liked the sound track of falsettos it is hauntingly beautiful. The music is by Tiger Lillies a sound and group that is very distinctive.To me like Brother or Brat this movie lacks of a clear story line so you assume what is going on is basic gangster betraying gangster stuff. This movie shows an ensemble of family problems nympho wives absent mothers sibling rivalry--in fact there is a little too much going on. You get taken up with the visuals and subplots so it is not that boring even without a detailed story. The visuals in this movie were not nearly as unique and interesting as BRAT so that movie worked a lot better--everything is shot in a Malibu hilltop house from the 70s--this is not different enough to be visually interesting--maybe to a Russian it was.Again if you like quirky personal movies this one will do for you. I found this one drags about 30 minutes from the end when the cockroach woman arrives--overall I gave it a 6. Brat was a better movie....in this one the writers/directors may have dipped into the coke a little too much.Bodrov Jr. was killed in 2002 in an avalanche (he is main protagonist in BRAT)-- To be honest his death was not a big loss to future movies--he is a bad actor too self conscious--maybe thinks also he is hotter looking than he is--helps that Dad is the director too.RECOMMEND

This is not a bad movie. Actually it is magnificent. I was searching for it for 4 years I guess and I finally got it. This movie, of course, can't be understood by Americans :)). So, dear potential viewer, don't believe comments made from US :). Don't watch the mob boss. Watch a guy (Russian guy, if you wish) who was gambling big. That is what the movie is about. About beauty and gambling for choices of the great thing called life. Mob factor is just an additional detail... just like in Godfather. That is not the main point of the movie. I agree that direction and actors (not the things they were supposed to do, but actors themselves) could be different (except Mashkov, he did well as always), but it doesn't shadow the whole movie.

Any fan of Russian cinema will have great difficulty in believing the sub-par performances phoned-in by Mashkov and Bodrov Jr., and will perhaps be utterly perplexed by Bodrov Sr.'s hackneyed and confusing script, which is coupled with uncharacteristically weak direction. Most of the characters wander through the movie as though they have no idea who they are or what they are doing. It is also sad to see that Jennifer Jason Leigh's acting skills have not advanced one iota since FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, and her screen exposure is mercifully limited. This is a terrible mafia movie; so much so that it makes the GODFATHER III look like a winner in the genre. To see the key Russians at their best, check out Bodrov Sr.'s work on PRISONER OF THE MOUNTAINS (which also features Jr.), Mashkov's turn in VOR (THE THIEF), and Bodrov Jr.'s new criminal in BRAT.

I saw this movie on the movie channel and unfortunately missed the first few minutes of the film but found the rest of it intriguing. None of it made any sense, of course but I found myself unable to turn it off. The whole thing had a dreamlike quality to me. What the heck was the bug lady doing in this film, anyway? Was the lead guy a mob boss or a tap dancer turned to crime in order to make a living?In spite of the shortcomings, I really liked the soundtrack. Especially haunting were the songs by the Tiger Lillies.My advice is to forget the movie and buy the soundtrack (if you can find it anywhere - which I have not been able to do).