Makarov

Makarov is the name of both centra! characters: the protagonist, a poet currently suffering from writer's block, and a hand pistol. "Need a Makarov?” hisses a backstreet thug to the surprised poet, who has just received payment of 10,000 rubles from his last­ published book. That happens to be the price of the new gun he buys from the black marketeer. He, too, is discomfited by crime-infested Moscow. The question is whether Russia needs more guns or poetry. The film is rich in both. “Makarov” is a tense, potent portrait of contemporary urban existence in post­revolutionary Russia.