Viggo Tarasov

*"John is a man of focus, commitment, sheer will... something you know very little about. I once saw him kill three men in a bar... with a pencil, with a fucking pencil. Then suddenly one day he asked to leave. It's over a woman, of course. So I made a deal with him. I gave him an impossible task. A job no one could have pulled off. The bodies he buried that day laid the foundation of what we are now."*
—Viggo to Iosef[src]
**Viggo Tarasov** (Russian: **Вигго Тарасов**) was a notorious Russian crime boss from the Tarasov crime family, the former head of the Tarasov Mob in New York City, and the father of Iosef Tarasov. An enterprising businessman with questionable roots, he was also the former employer of John Wick. He is the main antagonist of *John Wick.*

## Biography

*"Let us not resort to our baser instincts and handle this like civilized men"*
—Viggo Tarasov to John Wick

### Background

Viggo Tarasov inherited the leadership of the Tarasov Mob after his father died. It is mentioned that he always had a rivalry with another 'gang.' While Viggo was in a bar, he saw John Wick kill three people with a pencil. This sparked the light in Viggo's eyes; he saw John's potential and hired him to be part of the mob. Later, John asked to leave so he could marry Helen. Unwilling to let his best and most capable henchman leave his service, Viggo gave him an 'impossible task', implied to eliminate notable members of rival mobs. However, with the help of Italian crime lord Santino D'Antonio, John succeeded and Viggo had no choice but to let him retire. The assassin's "impossible task" enabled the Tarasov Mob to rise to power in New York.

### *John Wick*

*"People don't change. You know that. Times, they do."*
—Viggo Tarasov

Viggo is first seen when he was talking to a car mechanic named Aurelio about striking Iosef. Aurelio explained that he did it because Iosef stole John Wick's car and killed his pet puppy Daisy (which was a posthumous present from Helen) for fun. Viggo was shocked by this revelation and ended the call, realizing that John is intending to kill his son in revenge for his dog's death.

As a result, Viggo summoned Iosef in his flat and punched the young man twice in the stomach after giving him a drink, much to the surprise of his lawyer Avi, who was present as well. The leader of the Tarasov Mob explained to his son that John was once his best hitman, whom he referred to as Baba Yaga or the Boogeyman. Viggo explained that he saw John kill three men with a pencil and gave him a job to assassinate many of his rivals with ease, but this changed when the legendary assassin met Helen and told Viggo that he wanted to retire to spend a new life with Helen. He agreed to let John go on the condition that he complete an "impossible task": kill all of his rivals in one night. Much to Viggo's surprise, John managed to accomplish the task, which led to the rise of the Tarasov Mob and John's retirement as promised. Viggo angrily berated Iosef for stealing John's car and killing his dog, but Iosef refused to care and instead tried to persuade his father to undo the things he committed by finishing off John, only to be swiftly dismissed and warned by Viggo, that John will eventually come for him and kill him.

Later, Viggo tried to reason with John by a phone call to talk him out of seeking vengeance, but John silently refused, prompting Viggo to tell Avi to round up a 12-man hit squad to Wick's house to kill him before he can start hunting down Iosef, but John brutally kills them all and has the bodies professionally removed by Charlie and his crew. An unsurprised Viggo then placed a $2 million contract for John's murder and personally offers the contract to Marcus, John's mentor and old friend, who accepts before decided not to kill the former assassin.

Upon learning that John had sought refuge in the Continental Hotel which had its rules forbidding killing in its premises, Viggo immediately doubles the bounty for those who are willing to break it and had Iosef secured at his nightclub, the Red Circle, but not long before John storms the nightclub and attempts to kill Iosef but to no avail after Iosef's head of security, Kirill, and his henchmen waylaid him while Iosef flees.

*"Yeah, while you had your wife, I had my son and believe me, you had a far better deal. And then you left, and the way you got out, lying to yourself that the past held no sway over the future. But, in the end a lot of us are rewarded for our misdeeds, which is why God took your wife and unleashed you upon me."*
—Viggo to John Wick

As he discovered his cache of money and paraphernalia materials destroyed by an arson set by John at a church within a safe house which serves as his front upon a confession of an Orthodox priest which he quickly responds by executing him, Viggo then kidnaps John and holds him captive which led to a conversation between the two men in which the gangster mocked his former hitman for leaving his old life behind, Viggo then tries to have his henchmen torture and murder John but he was able to escape (through Marcus' assistance by use of a sniper by killing the other henchmen) then engaging Kirill in a brawl before strangling the bodyguard to death, he then chases after the SUV and shoots the driver (Viggo) in it.

Under John's gunpoint, Viggo is forced to reveal Iosef's location at his safe house in Brooklyn. He tells his former associate that his son and his henchmen know of his arrival as John took note as he moved away from Viggo while he attempts to drive back to his condominium. Disappointed, the mobster returned to his penthouse and sat down in his chair at his office, smoking a pot of weed contemplating as his son is swiftly murdered by John. Later on, Viggo, Avi and some henchmen head to the house of Marcus where the crime lord savagely beats Marcus within an inch of his life for betraying his orders of killing John, saying, "You had every opportunity to kill John Wick, and if you had done your job my son would be still alive!". He also taunts him by saying he always liked him and noting that he is the last of the old guard but Marcus is able to kill two bodyguards before Ms. Perkins shoots Marcus in his chest once and Viggo finishes him off, shooting him twice. After this, Viggo calls John to report this, planning to have Perkins ambush him. Perkins, however, was instead executed by Winston's henchmen for breaking the Continental's rules.

*"Marcus: You pulled the contract
Viggo: And while it was open, you had every chance. Every opportunity to kill John Wick! And if you had done your job, my son would be still alive!"*
—Viggo and Marcus

After this, Viggo and his cohorts head to the docks where they intend to escape John's wrath by leaving the city via helicopter, but notice they were followed by the assassin, who was informed about Viggo's location by Winston. While Viggo laughs insanely when John kills all of his remaining henchmen, Avi panics and asks for a gun until he is handed one by Viggo when they are forced to stop the car. However, the lawyer is unable to shot John, who slams into Avi with the side of his car, killing him. Viggo then frontally drives his car into the legendary hitman's car but John is able to get out safely and confront the Russian on the dock. Viggo tells John no more guns, no more bullets, John replies "no more bullets", then he throws the gun, Viggo also tells John "just you and me, John", John than responds "you and me". They engage in a fistfight in which John gets the upper hand until Viggo pulls out a knife and attempts to stab John in the stomach. John forces Viggo to stab him in the stomach where he breaks Viggo's arm. John then pulls the knife out of his stomach and then jams the knife into the side of Viggo's neck. They both drop to the floor, Viggo looks at John and says to him his final words "*Be seeing you, John.*" John looks at Viggo and responds "*Yeah, be seeing you.*" Viggo then slumps over and dies.

### Legacy

After Viggo's death, his brother Abram Tarasov took over the Tarasov Mob and kept John's car in his chop shop, only to let the hitman take his car back after a confrontation with him in his facility.

## Appearance

Viggo Tarasov is a middle-aged Russian boss with a wide chest, muscular arms, green eyes, white hair, and a beard. He has various tattoos such as a spider tattoo on his left hand, a Firebird on his left hand, and a Russian text on his chest. He dresses similarly to a typical mobster fashion such as donning an all-black, gray, or pinstriped suit and vest with a tie designed in different patterns. He also wore a fedora and a velvet shoulder jacket over his dark suit. In addition, Viggo can be seen smoking cigarettes and drinking Vodka as his habit.

## Personality

*"This life... follows you. It clings to you. Infecting everyone that comes close to you. We are cursed, you and I."*
—Viggo Tarasov to John Wick[src]

Even as a powerful Russian mob boss, Viggo has immense respect and fear for John and his abilities, as evidenced by the quickly "... Oh" scene, and this pervades all of their interactions. Knowing what John was like when he was still involved with his mob. Viggo is well aware of the danger Wick poses to his son, his kingdom, and himself. We witness Viggo turn to drink and cigarettes to help him cope with the pain of what is to come. When John murders his only son, Viggo is naturally upset, and he responds by torturing and executing Marcus, one of Wick's best friends. For that, John turns his attention to Viggo, which, predictably, does not go well for him. Furthermore, Viggo shows ruthless actions, such as killing Marcus and punching his own son Iosef. He's not hesitant to kill innocents or even use his own son as bait, yet he's very gentlemanly for the most part. While his mob is being pursued by John, Viggo laughs and loses it when John appears to murder him, knowing that his death would follow and that he has nothing to do with it because it is the John Wick he knew, while the rest of his men, including Avi, are terrified and fighting back. Meanwhile, Viggo sat back and relaxed, while smoking cigarettes in the midst of the chaos. Among all the main antagonists of the films so far, Only Viggo appears to fight John in hand-to-hand combat. Though he is not skilled enough to be a fighter, he still stands on his ground and brawls with John until his death.

## Abilities

* **Skilled Brawler**: Viggo was a skilled fighter, being able to challenge John in their hand-to-hand fight.
	+ **Knife Proficiency**: Viggo was skilled in using knives, being able to wound John during their fight.
* **Skilled Leader**: Viggo also seemed to have extensive leadership capabilities, given his seemingly unchallenged rule of the mob in New York.
* **Bilingualism**: Viggo was capable of fluently speaking Russian and English.

## Gallery

Viggo taking a Vodka.Viggo warning his son Iosef Tarasov about John Wick.Viggo having a drink with Avi in his penthouseViggo interrogating John WickViggo killing Marcus.Viggo's death
## Trivia

* Despite being a powerful crime boss, he does not have a seat at the High Table, indicating that he and his organization are not held in the same regard as some of the other syndicates.
* Although John Wick was his best hitman, he never told his son about him, which is his greatest mistake.
* He has a huge stack of gold coins that are to be used in Continental Hotels.
* Although Viggo is the main antagonist of the first *John Wick* film, his son Iosef caused the events of the series, making Viggo a false antagonist.
* Viggo's death is referenced in *John Wick: Chapter 2* where Santino D'Antonio's mute right-hand woman Ares signs mockingly "Be seeing you" at John after being fatally stabbed by him.
* Viggo has various tattoos including a spider tattoo on his right wrist, a Firebird on his left hand and a Russian text on his chest.
* As of now, only Viggo appears to fight John in combat among the major villains in the John Wick franchise.