Reeling in the Beast: The Anti-Russian, Russian Leviathan

Leviathan depicts the imbalance of political power in the world's largest nation, dramatising the conflict between downtrodden individuals and the despotic state. Greg Dolgopolov unravels the universal 'battler story' underpinning Andrey Zvyagintsev's fourth feature, and disentangles the film's controversial reception at home from its accolades abroad.

Additional keywords: oppression, alienation, disempowerment, Cannes, Golden Globes, Academy Awards, Oscars, Eastern Orthodox Church, religion, Old Testament, Book of Job, Vladimir Putin, chernukha, Thomas Hobbes.