Der Magier im Kreml

An American journalist gains access to the (fictional) former Putin adviser, Vadim Baranov (Paul Dano). His story begins in the 1990s, during Boris Yeltsin’s administration. From being an avant-garde theatre director, Baranov becomes a TV producer of reality shows and eventually the cynical chief strategist for the presidential candidate hand-picked by a group of oligarchs: Vladimir Putin (Jude Law). His aim: to create communicative chaos and destabilise his opponents. To this end, Baranov himself founds and supports opposition parties in order to keep them under control and dissolve them again if necessary, and he develops a social media strategy designed to sow discord and spread anger.

Olivier Assayas has adapted Giuliano da Empoli’s roman à clef The Magician in the Kremlin for the screen: the character of Vadim Baranov is largely based on the real-life former Putin adviser Vladislav Surkov.