Yes, this is slow-moving but it is such an accurate portrayal of post-Soviet life in today's Russia that you overlook the lack of a lot of action to focus on the characters and the milieu in which they live. We have it all here -- an oligarch, an indulged son due to an indulgent mother, the haves and the have-nots. Maybe I appreciated it more than the average viewer because I have lived in Eastern Europe and am familiar with post-Soviet Russian culture. While the oligarch lives in a beautiful flat and drives a luxury car to his trendy gym, the worker bees (or should I say non-worker bees) live in a prototypical dilapidated housing block and walk miles to the train. A ne'er do well adolescent takes out his sense of hopelessness on those below even him on the socio-economic ladder. Raskolnikov lives!!
Review of Elena
