Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

good back-story, and good acting

Fresh and Exciting

DEAD MAN'S BLUFF is a Russian comedy, which means that it is really dark. So dark in fact that most Western audiences will scare at the first of many very racist jokes (and unlike Western films but like reality, the racists don't necessarily get a comeuppance). The plot, such as it is, concerns a briefcase of heroin which gets stolen by various parties. A pair of hulking hit men (the nominal heroes), a gangster who dotes on his fat son, and a corrupt cop all go looking for it. On the way they all torture, murder and cheat. It's crude but funny, buttressed by a great soundtrack of real Russian music, suitably grim run-down locations and cameos by lots of Russian actors in disguise. The film is really a parody of 1990s Russian gangster films - including those made by the same director - which means that it is gloriously over the top, to the point where a running gag is that the heroes are running out of space to stack the corpses.

The movie shows how modern authority figures gained their power and capital. A lot of them came from not so clean jobs and the movies shows details of that.Two guys - Simon (Duzhev) and Sergey (Aleksey Panin) - are working for a local mobster (Mikhalkov) as negotiators (extortion specialists actually) and killers. They are not brain surgeons and are quick to pull out a gun, which always puts them in different awkward situations. Considering there are competitors such as crooked cop, local dumb criminals and other low-life element, Simon and Sergey are in for a fun ride... Expect lot of gunshots and a sea of blood.The movie has gathered a great number of Russian cinema stars even in episodic roles (Andrey Panin is an architect, Andrey Krasko is an unlucky neighbor, Dmitriy Pevtzov is a drug-dealing lawyer, etc.), which makes the movie so much fun to watch. Under a virtuoso management of the director Aleksey Balaganov all characters are simply dumb and extremely standardized, which makes it look like a joke.Just like Guy Ritchie's movies this one can not really be taken too seriously. On the other hand it's too much dark humor and too much blood to be considered a comedy.Just keep in mind that it is a true biography of some today's Russian politicians. Perhaps, that will leave you thinking.p.s. "The Russian Ethiopian" is absolutely hilarious!

As several other posts mentioned, this film is sort of like a Russian version of Snatch. This is no masterpiece, but it is fun to watch, as long as the cartoonish violence does not turn you off. As others mentioned before, this truly is a collection of Russian acting talent. I don't remember Mikhalkov having so much fun playing a bad guy since Svoi sredi chuzhih, chuzhoi sredi svoih, I haven't seen Statskiy Sovetnik yet , I hear he is quite good in that. To me personally it was fun to compare and contrast the way Zhmurki portrayed the 1990s Russia versus Brigada and Bumer. It is a shame that this movie will not be widely available in USA, because I think it is on par with all the Asian gangster flicks Blockbuster seems to be stocking up on.

It's good. It's brilliant. It's more than just a crime movie. I'd say, this one is a thick spot set on Russian crime movies. An actor from Brigada shown not like a superhero but like a real human with his opportunities and threats. As well as other characters. This movie is essential, it's not a fake, it's real. Nevertheless, it's stylish and aesthetically beautiful. Just look at Moscow side shown in this movie. It's filmed like in Interdevochka, with those old-style colors. I'm not going to spoil, but you really should see it. It's a fun: as crime movie, as a trash comedy, as an aesthetically pleasure, as a pride of Russian movie industry uprising.