TYCOON: A NEW RUSSIAN

Russian superstar Vladimir Mashkov stars in TYCOON: A NEW RUISSIAN, a political thriller based on the true story of Moscow billionaire Boris Berezovsky. The movie chronicles the rise and fall of a fictional billionaire who turns to capitalism in the wake of the failed Gorbachev era and the collapse of totalitarian communism.

Once a freedom-loving idealist, Plato Makovski convinces four brilliant young friends from university to abandon their science studies in favor of capitalist enterprises. To do that, however, they must execute semi-legal and morally dubious financial deals. When a group of thugs challenges them at one point, they even have to enlist a member of the Russian Mafia to help them out. Another problem is the ongoing opposition of the Communist in charge of a branch of the Russian secret service, the heirs to the KGB.

The new non-Communist government tolerates the machinations of Plato and his friends, until their political and financial clout begins to rival the government’s. Plato decides to fight back by running his own candidate for president, but his plan backfires, leading to dangerous political intrigue, including attempted assassinations.

Though sometimes hard to follow and choppy, TYCOON is an interesting, dramatic political thriller. It’s clear to see why Mashkov is such a big star in Russian, because he does an absolutely superb job of portraying the protagonist. TYCOON criticizes Communism, but also attacks the corruption rampant in Russian society, government, and business. Although Plato is at times a sympathetic character, the movie seems to see capitalism as an inadequate replacement for the old Communist system. At the end, all the dirty things that have happened have left Plato completely disheveled and unnerved. Of course, capitalism without the Law and Grace of God and the Love of Christ is ultimately meaningless. Private property is an essential ingredient of these spiritual things, however, as the Commandment, “Thou shalt not steal,” makes perfectly clear.

TYCOON has a couple of explicit sex scenes, with graphic nudity at one point. That probably explains why the American release of this movie has no rating from the Motion Picture Association. There is also some political violence and strong foul language, but it’s the one nude sex scene that’s the most objectionable element.