Ewan McGregor, renowned for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and the Disney+ miniseries, has a diverse filmography that spans multiple genres. From his breakout in “Trainspotting” to roles in movies like “Moulin Rouge!”, “Black Hawk Down”, and “Doctor Sleep”, he has shown great versatility. In 2016, he starred in “Our Kind of Traitor”, a spy thriller that, despite making only $9.7 million at the box office, has drawn attention for its accurate portrayal of the Russian mafia.
“Our Kind of Traitor”, directed by Susanna White and written by the Oscar-nominated Hossein Amini based on John le Carré’s novel, follows a couple who get caught up in a Russian oligarch’s defection scheme and find themselves between the Russian mafia and the British Secret Service, neither of which can be trusted. The movie features a star-studded cast including McGregor, Naomie Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, Damian Lewis, and Alicia von Rittberg.
In a video by Insider, Joe Serio, a former CIA agent and Russian mafia investigator, rated the realism of Russian mob scenes in movies and TV. When it came to “Our Kind of Traitor”, he gave a particular clip a 9/10 for the “fear factor” and called it the “most dangerous and the scariest”. Serio delved into the real-life implications, discussing the connection to Semion Mogilevich, a powerful mob boss with ties to Putin. He described how Mogilevich is involved in a host of illegal activities like money laundering, bribing officials, human trafficking, and smuggling weapons.
Serio also pointed out the issue of Western complicity, highlighting how corrupt politicians are influenced by Russian funds and how former U.S. law enforcement officials have gone on to work for Russian oligarchs. He emphasized that the scariest aspect isn’t the typical violence shown in movies but rather the corruption that can undermine democracy. In “Our Kind of Traitor”, the thrills come from depicting the complex web of this corruption and the global influence of the Russian mafia rather than from action-packed sequences.
What Serio’s comments mean for “Our Kind of Traitor” is that it showcases how corruption can be far more terrifying than straightforward violence. The movie uses its narrative to paint a chilling picture of the Russian mafia’s reach and the insidious ways it can manipulate systems, highlighting the very real and dangerous consequences of such criminal influence on a global scale.
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