"A Stoker" is one of the last films of Aleksey Balabanov, the cult director of the new Russian cinema. The story of the revenge of a small man, a former major, who is brilliantly played by unprofessional Yakut actor Mikhail Skryabin.

Yes, a good movie: good picture, good (very good) camera, good acting of the fireman that is in the cast of cargo 200 too; other actors are "street real" and they are great for what they have to do. The music is perfect, and the 90's Russia atmosphere is almost in every frame of this movie. If you love Russian atmosphere, gangster, shooting, action this is the film for you: this film shows something that nobody wants to remember but you have to watch other films of this great director and study a bit of history (maybe even go to little Odessa and have a talk with someone) if you want to appreciate it all. It is not the story that makes the point is everything around it, that is why i love Balabanov. Great work Mr. Balabanov Sorry for my bad English Greetings from Italy.

An intriguing but ultimately slight drama about murder and revenge from Russian director Aleksey Balabanov (Morphia, etc). Ivan Skriabin (Mikhail Skryabin) is a former soldier and decorated war hero, and veteran of the campaign in Afghanistan. After suffering concussion following a bomb blast, he now ekes out an existence by working as a stoker, keeping the massive furnaces burning in a sprawling industrial complex. He is also writing a novel on a battered old typewriter. But local gangsters, working for a man known as Sergeant, also occasionally use the furnaces to dispose of bodies. Skriabin is a passive witness to their activities, until his own daughter Sasha becomes a victim and he seeks revenge on her killers. Balabanov gives us a glimpse into a darker underbelly of a contemporary St Petersberg, a venal and corrupt city where wealthy gangsters now wield power and where old soldiers are yesterday's heroes. The performances from the largely unknown cast are quite good, and theatre veteran Skryabin brings a touching and suitably haunted edge to his performance. Balabanov's script is sparse and peppered with touches of wry humour, and his signature violence is again unexpected and shocking. Balabanov's regular cinematographer Aleksandr Simonov captures some wonderful images of the snow covered city scape, while DiDiuLia's jaunty music score offers a counterpoint to the violence that follows.