dark, twisted, confused serial-murder police-state drama

Rating: 5/10 (3 January 2016)

Leo Demidov (Tom Hardy) was an Ukrainian orphan from Stalin instituted famine. He's given the name Leo. He's an MGB officer. His underling Vasili (Joel Kinnaman) is an unstable fanatic. His comrade Alexei's son is murdered and left at the rail-yards. Stalin had declared murder as a capitalist disease and the murder is classified as an accident. More child killings keep surfacing. Meanwhile Leo's wife Raisa (Noomi Rapace) is accused of treason. Leo refuses to denounce her and they're banished to Volsk. Leo works under General Mikhail Nesterov (Gary Oldman) and he discovers child murders all along the rail line.
I really like 'Gorky Park'. This is darker, deeper and more confused. I like some bits here and there. Raisa's twist really surprised me and it does break down the flow of the movie. I like that she spotted the illiterate guard checking papers. However the movie moves to too many place. The last act goes off the rails. It turns into a Bourne movie. The last confrontation is the last straw. It tries too hard to get to a happy ending. In the end, I won't be recommending this by a slim margin.