Words of War (2025) Movie Script
1
ANNA: Do you still think
that the world is vast?
That if there is a war
in one place,
it has no bearing on another?
And that you can
sit it out in peace...
ignoring all that you see?
We continue to slumber
as if the war being fought
within our borders
was not already
in its fifth year.
As if Chechnya was
as far from Europe
as the moon.
()
(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)
()
(SIRENS BLARING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Come on. Let's go.
(SIRENS BLARING)
DMITRY:
Anna Politkovskaya.
I want to see the test results.
RECEPTIONIST:
That's not our normal procedure.
Well, she's not
a normal patient.
Sorry, are you a relative?
No, I'm her boss.
The results should be here.
I know, because I printed
them out earlier.
You think they
got deleted somehow?
Not only her test results...
there's no record
of her ever being admitted.
(WHIMPERS)
You're gonna be okay.
MILA:
She's a fighter.
Your mother will live.
-What is it?
-We need to get her out of here.
Her records are missing.
()
ILYA:
You sure about this?
We don't have a choice.
It's not safe here.
They're gonna let her die.
(CELLPHONE RINGING)
Where are you?
Huh?
Two minutes.
Careful.
Stop, stop, stop, stop.
Is she okay?
-DMITRY: Now hurry.
-Go.
()
Careful!
Seats.
-Okay.
-Easy, easy.
It's all right.
-Come on, come on.
-DMITRY: Come on now.
Okay, 1, 2, 3.
Watch her head.
Watch her head!
What are you doing?
The hospital in Likhovskoy
is almost 12 hours away.
If something happens,
are any of you trained?
Let's go.
You're gonna be okay, mama.
Transmission's been slipping,
but it should get you there.
(SIRENS BLARES)
You're paranoid.
Goddamn right I am.
()
(BATS SCREECHING)
(HORN HONKING)
Alexei, thank you.
-Thank you.
-Of course. Right.
Let's get her inside, ICU!
Quick as you can.
1, 2, 3, 4.
-Ca-- careful.
-Okay.
Okay.
Mind her head.
VERA: Papa, they've run
a thousand tests
but they know less than
when they started.
SASHA:
Stupid, stupid woman.
I told you
you cannot keep poking a bear
and expect him not
to bite back.
So, this is mama's fault?
SASHA:
No, no, it's mine, it's mine.
Should've fought harder.
Should've stopped her going
to the fucking country.
-I practically cheered her on.
-SASHA: No.
Hey, sweetheart, listen.
Your mum makes her own mind up.
All you've ever done
is loved her,
just like she loved you
and your brother.
Okay?
You think about that.
(SIGHS)
SASHA:
Darling?
You, you okay?
-Vera?
-Yeah, you um...
you said, "loved".
Sorry.
No, I-- I-- what I meant--
I'll call you
if anything changes.
Is it okay if I pray?
(SPEAKS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
()
ANNA:
Hello.
I'm Anna.
Who would like some pencils?
(CHUCKLES)
Can I give you those?
Thank you.
Thank you, thank you.
(CHUCKLES)
ANNA:
So, what happens to the ones
who don't get adopted?
If we can't place them in a
home before they reach 18,
they're transitioned.
So, forced out just in time
to get drafted.
No one's saying
the system is perfect.
The system doesn't work.
Hello.
My name's Anna.
She won't speak.
We call her "Angela",
for angel.
Russian soldiers found her
wandering the outskirts
of Grozny not long after
the invasion began.
They thought she looked Russian,
so they had her brought here.
So, you're Chechen?
Shh.
ANNA:
Sorry.
I like your doll, Angela.
Hmm?
Did something bad happen
to your doll in Grozny?
-Oh.
-Angela!
No. It's--
ASSISTANT CAREGIVER 1:
I'll-- I'll get the director.
No, please, please, it's um--
it's all right.
Don't-- don't punish her.
Oh. (CHUCKLES)
It was my fault.
I was being too nosy.
(CHUCKLES)
()
ANNA: Sasha, I-- I know.
I'm just saying.
I may be a little--
Yes. I know you're busy.
I'm busy, too. Okay.
Yes, we're busy people.
Right. Yes.
Bye, Sasha, bye, bye, bye.
-CO-WORKER 1: Morning.
-Oh, morning.
Bye.
-You're report.
-Oh, thank you, Pavan.
Thank you.
Relieved.
YURI: No. Whoa.
Wait, whoa, whoa.
No one is accusing anyone
of corruption, all right?
Our reporters just want to ask
you a few simple questions.
What kind of questions?
Well, uh, for example,
how does 2 billion rubles
allocated for
public building projects
end up being used
to build villas
in the south of Spain
for a bunch of rich guys?
You know what pisses me off?
Everything?
Well, besides that.
What, besides everything?
-Oysters.
-Huh?
There's a restaurant
in the Italian Alps,
it caters for wealthy Russians.
I've interviewed the owner.
I thought you were
writing about orphans.
Do you realize they have
eight kinds on the menu?
-Orphans?
-ANNA: Oysters.
Flown in from
all over the world.
Well, what's that got
to do with the article?
Well, the budgets for state-run
orphanages are being slashed.
Kids are going hungry.
No one gives a damn,
and least of all,
the nouveau riche
-who are getting fat off--
-Exotic shellfish.
Yeah, I get it.
What happened to your nose?
Well, doesn't it piss you off?
Well, yeah, it pisses me off,
but what am I gonna do?
I can't find
the Berezovsky file.
And don't let the things
you write about upset you.
They don't.
I start off upset, then I write.
Where did I put
that bloody file?
-Where was it?
-Mm.
(MUNCHES)
What's this?
-Toffee.
-Ugh.
-You don't like toffee?
-I like toffee.
(SPITS)
I don't like rat turd.
Well, you should work
for a state-run paper.
I hear the toffees there
are excellent.
Yeah.
I hear the reporters'
salaries are, too.
Why are you here?
I just love spending
time with you.
You want an extension?
Two, three days?
One.
Thank you.
-And it better be brilliant.
-ANNA: Yeah.
-And don't slam the door.
-(DOOR SLAMS)
SASHA:
Now, you must be aware
a lot of critics
are calling your book
flagrantly nationalistic.
You say that like
it's a bad thing.
I'm saying like the Soviet Union
dissolved in 1990,
and most people have
since moved on
from the idea
of a grander Russia.
HISTORIAN: If they have moved on
from land won
and fought for by the blood
of their forefathers,
then they are weak
and they are traitors.
That is an opinion, isn't it?
If you like it,
The Grander Russia
by our guest tonight,
Professor Vorobiev.
Something different tomorrow.
Look forward to seeing you then.
Goodnight.
CAMERAMAN:
And wrap.
Holy shit.
Thanks.
Phew.
Where did they find him?
-You were wonderful.
-Oh, yeah?
(CLEARS THROAT)
Your new friend looks
so particularly jolly.
-Who, Frankenstein's nephew?
-(CHUCKLES)
Secret police
stamped on his face?
I don't know
why we get all the attention.
It's not like I'm calling
for regime change live on TV.
Why not?
Because, darling, the man
has only just come to power
and-- and it would be impolite.
Well, then-- then call him out
for what he is,
an ex-KGB goon obsessed
with lining his own pockets.
That's a great idea.
I remember a time when you
wouldn't have thought twice.
I remember a time when you
knew how to duck a punch.
So, how was your day at the
cold face of truth, my darling?
Well, no one knows what
happened to her parents.
I mean, dead probably.
And she won't say.
And you couldn't
drag it out of her.
One-nil to the orphans.
Not funny, Sasha.
I feel for the girl.
Just being impartial.
You should try it sometime.
Then you wouldn't
be you, would you?
Let's have a look.
Ooh.
She's got a hell of a jab.
Yeah. Well, Putin hit her first.
Apart from your amazing rapport,
how's the piece going?
Oh.
Well, I've got one more
interview, then I will write,
Dimitri will publish,
and nothing will happen.
When Putin was assistant
mayor of Saint Petersburg...
he was banking 25% commission
on thousands
of unauthorized contracts
for food shipments,
most of which came back short
in the middle
of a food shortage.
Well, maybe look for any links
with the local mafia.
Uh, Nestor,
anything new in Chechnya?
I was thinking,
would it hurt to give him some
credit once in a while?
The Chechens started this thing.
What, so they
invaded themselves?
He put down a rebellion.
Barely 12 months later, all
that's left is some mopping up.
In my book,
that's a success story.
ANNA:
Sounds more like a fantasy.
Except I've sat down with
three of Putin's top generals.
Generals? Wow.
Then did you have his mother
on background?
And I was there.
In Grozny?
Wasn't on the list.
So, the army dictates
where you can go
and what you can see.
I mean, why pay someone
to go down there?
Maybe we should publish
the army's press releases
every week. I mean, whoa.
-Think of the savings.
-All right. All right.
-Ignore them.
-Dmitry, I um...
(CLEARS THROAT)
Well, I personally think our
whole approach to Chechnya,
it's-- well, it's wrong.
(MAN CLEARS THROAT)
I'm listening.
Well, maybe we should
vary our point of view.
I mean, right now, it's--
it's the Russian army's.
What if it was the Chechens?
Look, I--
I don't mean the rebels.
NESTOR:
I've tried.
The-- the few civilians I've met
won't talk to me,
because I'm Russian.
What am I supposed to do?
Pretend I'm from Bolivia?
How's your Spanish?
(CHUCKLE)
All right.
That's it. Thank you.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
She's right, you know?
About Nestor?
He's naive. He'll learn.
-He's fucking useless.
-(CHUCKLES)
And he's left his facts.
He's cheap.
No, if our readers want to be
fed propaganda,
they can read Tass
or switch on the TV.
That's not what we're about.
You know who'd agree with that?
Oh, here we go.
The reason why Gorbachev set up
this paper in the first place
and spent his Nobel Prize money
doing it is
so there'd be at least
one source--
DMITRY:
Of honest reporting.
I know.
I'm taking that photo down.
We don't need
a war correspondent down there,
Dmitry.
Everyone's got one of those.
So, what do we need?
Sorry to interrupt.
I read your orphanage piece.
You did a great job.
Thank you.
(DMITRY CLEARS THROAT)
-(KNOCKS)
-Oh, wh-- I...
I've just been chatting
with Yuri.
Hmm.
And we agree with you.
We don't think we need
a war correspondent in Chechnya.
We need a people correspondent.
Oh, good.
Someone who's um, sensitive,
empathetic,
but also tough-minded
and uh, willing to confront
the powerful
by asking hard questions...
even if it means
pissing them off.
ANNA: Well, it'll be a week
at most.
And-- and look, it's my job.
VERA:
I think it's a great idea.
-Thank you.
-How is it a great idea?
I mean, how is going to
a war zone even close
to a great idea?
Maybe Ilya
doesn't like Chechens.
Who said anything
about Chechens?
What, do you think,
because she's a woman
she can't handle herself?
Oh, and you think
a bullet cares?
I'm going to talk to people,
some of whom happen
to worship Allah,
and write about them.
And papa?
I mean, he's okay with this?
Absolutely.
That's the stupidest
fucking thing
I've ever heard in my life.
Did you know that the war
between Russia and Chechnya
is the longest ongoing conflict
in the world?
-I didn't. Did you--
-SASHA: Fuck's sake. Hey!
--Oh, God.
-I'm your husband, okay?
I'm the father of your kids.
I love you.
And I-- I-- I-- I need
you to stick around.
So, no, it's not happening.
You call Dmitry tomorrow,
you tell him you've changed
your mind.
Right? Right?
Have you finished?
I'm going, Sasha.
I'm going.
Oh, fuck. Christ.
Come on then, listen.
Listen, you give a copy
of your passport
and your itinerary to Dmitry.
No. In fact, to both of us,
and you don't go anywhere,
not-- not one yard off,
where we've seen written down
that you're going.
-Yes?
-Yes, right.
SASHA:
Okay?
Jesus Christ, you're
not going to fucking Disneyland.
People are killing each other.
Do you understand?
They're shooting each other.
They're blowing each other up.
You get in the middle and then
you're fucking dead, too.
Right.
-No, don't--
-Sasha, I--
No, don't Sasha me.
You promise me
you'll be careful.
I promise you that
I'll really be careful.
Shh.
-SASHA: Oh.
-(CHUCKLES)
()
Captain Turgenev,
you know as much as I'd like
to submit an article
about the back of your head,
it-- it-- it would be helpful
if we could stop
and talk to people.
Yeah, it would be, but we stop
in Khiris, not before.
Yes?
You know,
maybe we don't stop at all.
-(EXPLOSION)
-(MEN SHOUTING)
(GUNFIRE)
-(EXPLOSION)
-(MEN SHOUTING)
(GUNFIRE)
(SPEAKS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
JANUSZ:
Anna, get out!
Come on!
(GRUNTS, GASPS)
JANUSZ:
Come on!
Stay down!
(GUNFIRE)
(EXPLOSION)
First time in action?
Pretty cool, huh?
ANNA:
What's happening?
-Stay down!
-Okay, okay!
Stop shouting.
SOLDIER 1:
Moving clear!
(INDISTINCT SPEECH)
(GUNFIRE)
(BABY CRIES)
()
(WOMAN SHOUTS)
()
()
-Good.
-Thank you.
REPORTER 1: ...the battle
in Grozny is now underway.
The Russian Army Commander
has declared
that anyone remaining
in the city will be considered
a legitimate target
for artillery and air strikes.
(VERA CHUCKLES)
SASHA:
Uh, come on, not again.
ANNA: You can ignore him
if you want to.
SASHA: Well, she's not
the only one
who's been to a war zone,
you know?
VERA:
Hmm, dad.
SASHA: We were all lined up
behind a church wall.
-It's blowing up bit by bit.
-VERA: Come on, dad.
-ILYA: Papa, come on.
-SASHA: Excuse me.
How many times?
It's fine everybody's heard it,
it's a classic.
VERA: I have heard this story
nine times now.
So, and the machine gunfire's
like coming
through the belly of all that.
And they stopped
and this guy jumps out
and he goes, "Don't shoot,
man, we're journalists!
-I'm from the New York Times."
-(CHUCKLES)
And the guy says,
"Oh no, I hate your crosswords!"
-(IMITATES SHOOTING)
-(CHUCKLES)
-Blows the whole place up.
-ANNA: There you go.
WOMAN 1:
I would be so frightened.
You probably weren't
frightened at all.
Uh, I think I actually
pissed my pants.
-Sasha!
-SASHA: I did.
So, who is the scariest person
you've ever met?
Um, I wonder...
-Asshole.
-(CHUCKLING)
Was it?
I thought it was pork.
-Oh, no.
-WOMAN 1: I bet you're all glad
she isn't going back
to Chechnya.
-(WOMAN CHUCKLES)
-VERA: Awkward.
No.
(DISTANT EXPLOSIONS)
What's this? We need this
moving now, faster, come on.
Come on, people!
Let's move it along!
Let's go, now!
Come on!
Faster, guys, faster!
The entire city
is being emptied.
(CAMERA CLICKS)
They go to camps
near the border.
()
()
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING
IN DISTANCE)
()
ANNA:
Excuse me?
Excuse me, would you talk to me?
Uh, where were you...
Look, I'm a journalist.
Could you talk?
I'm just try--
Why won't anybody talk to me?
Look.
What's happened?
The Russian Army.
What?
Could you explain?
-What?
-Mm.
Please, what...
I just want to help.
I just want to help.
I'm just-- Look, I'm-- I'm--
Fuck this. Fuck.
()
-DMITRY: Hello?
-Dmitry?
-DMITRY: Anna?
-Dmitry?
Can you hear--
It's--
Oh, shit!
Hey, can I ask you something?
I thought a reporter's job was
to report and not help, huh?
In the case
of Russian reporters,
to spoon feed whatever version
of the truth
the Kremlin deems fit.
Well, that might be true
for some.
But not all.
The paper I work for believes
that people deserve the truth,
not lies.
They're choking on lies.
Oh, you think the truth
will go down easier?
-Would you talk to me?
-(SCOFFS)
I took the word of
a Russian reporter once.
I swore never again.
Please! (INDISTINCT SPEECH)
(HORN HONKS)
Politkovskaya!
Let's go. Time to go.
ANNA:
Go without me.
(DISTANT EXPLOSIONS)
What did you say to me?
I'm staying.
There's one thing lies
between you
and these vicious
Chechen dogs...
...the Russian Armed Forces.
The forces concerned
for my welfare,
you know, it's touching.
But I don't see any dogs
on this road,
vicious or otherwise.
What I do see is people
desperate to flee Grozny.
Now, why?
I don't know.
Suit yourself,
but you're on your own.
In the vehicle, let's go!
I am--
I could do with a drink.
Look, I have to be sure
what I've just done
isn't gonna get me killed.
As I can't be sure,
I have to assume the risk.
I'm Anna Politkovskaya,
by the way.
Anzor.
If you really want
to report the truth...
(BLOWS SMOKE)
I'll show you difficult things
for you to see.
Great.
Can we go now?
(ENGINE STARTS)
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING
IN DISTANCE)
()
ANZOR: You've entered
the black hole
of the world, Anna.
No light
or truth escapes from here.
()
(DOGS BARKING)
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING
IN DISTANCE)
(CAR DOOR CLOSES)
ANNA:
Hello.
(BACKGROUND CHATTER)
(BABY CRYING IN BACKGROUND)
(COUGHS)
(WOMAN SHOUTING IN BACKGROUND)
How do they survive?
This is...
Hi, hello.
My name is Anna.
What's your name?
Please, who are you?
What you do here?
It's okay.
This is Anna Politkovskaya.
-She wants to tell our story.
-Russian?
Yes, I'm Russian.
I'm a journalist
from the Novaya Gazeta.
I know people like you
are liars.
She's different.
What is your name?
Fatima.
Would you talk with me, Fatima?
Please?
If I talk, you tell my story
and no lies.
I promise.
Thank you.
Come.
(SPEAKS CHECHEN)
Would it be okay
if I recorded you?
FATIMA:
Yes.
Okay, thank you.
Just put that there.
FATIMA:
Vakha loved me.
Never in his life did he hurt
another human being.
I could always make him laugh.
That's what he loved about me,
my sense of humor.
Most men, they want to
be the funny one but...
Vakha didn't care.
When they found his body...
he had been shot several times.
Both ears cut off
and kept as trophies.
I'll tell you who does this.
Russians.
DMITRY: "When they find out
you're a reporter,
they cling to you,
as if you are a magician,
as if something essential
depended on you.
This war is not being fought
to rein in a rogue republic.
This war is being waged
to advance the interests
of one person...
a president intent on becoming
the type of leader
that Russia thought it had left
in the past,
a vain, brutal,
power-hungry authoritarian."
Jesus.
Well, you said you were
gonna be tough on him.
You've dropped a bomb
on his doorstep.
I was aiming for his lap.
You're set on blowing up
the whole damn operation.
Oh, well, then I'll add
something about
what a good father is
and how much his generals
give to charities.
The hospital burns ward.
Move it up
to the first paragraph.
Tone down the gore.
Other than that,
don't change a word.
We're gonna publish part
of your report each week.
Thank you.
Before Putin, you know how
Russians felt about themselves.
He made it okay for us
to love our country again.
Some of us never stopped.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER
IN BACKGROUND)
(SIGHS)
(COINS CLANKS)
ANNA: We are hurtling back
into a Soviet abyss.
An information vacuum
that spells death
from our own ignorance.
If you choose to be
a journalist in Russia,
you have to accept the risk.
ANNA:
Happy birthday.
I'm sorry, I-- I can't be--
What, something...
Uh, Ilya, sorry.
Really bad, bad signal.
Did-- did you get
the present I sent?
ILYA:
Yes.
ANNA: (ON PHONE)
It's a Sufi saying.
It's beautiful, mama,
but I um,
I don't know what it says.
"Only from the heart
can you touch the sky."
(DISTANT EXPLOSION)
What's that noise?
Are those bombs?
ANNA: (ON PHONE)
Howitzer fire.
The 120th are making a push
so Putin has something to brag
about before the election.
Well, it sounds close.
I don't know.
I'd say it's 5 kilometers away.
Yeah.
(KNOCKS)
Uh, hold on.
There we go.
(INDISTINCT BACKGROUND CHATTER)
Step out of the car.
Is there a problem?
Step out of the car.
-Let me call you back.
-No, mama, wait.
-ANNA: Sorry.
-Move. Come on.
Please, can you explain
what the problem is?
-Hey.
-So, where are you taking us?
Shut the fuck up!
Journalist.
Yes, I'm a journalist
and I'm certified to be here.
But please, please read.
Can you not touch--
-(GRUNTS)
-Oh!
ANNA:
Oh, oh, God.
-Oh.
-(GASPS)
(SIGHS, WHIMPERS)
Fucking bastards.
You should write a report.
They could've killed you.
They're nobodies.
I'm not gonna open people's
eyes by feeding them nobodies.
Well, next time, Anna, some
nobody is likely to break more
than your tape recorder.
(SIGHS)
GREGOR:
Hey.
Hey.
-Great ratings last night.
-Yeah.
Best of the series.
Yesterday's news now.
Your wife, she's making
quite a name for herself.
Pfft.
Well, she raised the kids
while I made a name
for myself, so...
Yeah, it's only fair.
A bit reckless, don't you think?
She says she's well aware
of the danger she's in, so.
But are you?
What's gonna happen to me?
She could poke my eye
out with a brush.
Have a great show.
Sorry.
Stuck at work.
She's on a mission.
Uh, it's not easy for any of us.
No, all right, well--
Well, what if you'd found out
that for the past year
instead of running off
to Chechnya all the time,
she was running into the arms
of another man?
I mean, h-- how, how
would you feel then?
-Like sharing?
-(SIGHS)
They shouldn't have
sent her to a conflict.
She's a people correspondent.
She loves people.
It's who she is.
-WAITER 1: Finished, sir?
-Thank you.
You know, today in her column,
you know what she called him?
A gangster.
That's your mum.
Beautiful, tender,
and with all the tact
of a T-90 tank.
People are starting to notice
how much she hates him.
She hates what he's doing.
She hates the war.
Almost as much
as she loves Chechens.
Hey, we're here to enjoy
ourselves, remember?
Drink.
(EXPLOSION)
()
()
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Were you never tempted
to join the rebels?
(BLOWS RASPBERRY)
You know, Anna,
one day I'd woken up
and a war had broken out.
Yes, most of my friends,
they joined the rebels,
but I didn't hate the Russians
enough to kill them, so.
You know, some people think
the only way to end the war
is by winning it.
May I say you end
the war by ending it.
Oh, oh.
We can't talk about
something else?
We have a guest in our home.
The war can wait.
-I didn't give you a drink.
-(LAUGHS) But I was--
Come, come, come.
I told him to give you a drink.
Mama, you said do the plate.
This is Amina, Zarina, Amir,
and Khava.
Come, come, come.
So tonight, as a family, we eat.
-Oh.
-And we drink.
Oh. Thank you.
You know, it smells amazing.
Oh, Anna, you're in for a treat.
My mother, she makes the best
jijig-chorpa in Chechnya.
MAARET: Hey, hey.
Who raised you, huh?
-Wolves? Leave it.
-Mama.
Ah.
Oh, Natalya.
-Delicious.
-I picked it.
I cleaned it.
I cooked it all by myself.
Mama. I did nothing.
MAARET: You did nothing.
You never do anything.
MAN 1:
I'm the one who picked it,
-so I don't know what--
-MAARET: That's a lie.
MAN 1:
All right.
NATALYA:
Don't listen to them.
They're liars.
Well, I want to make
a toast to Anna.
Oh, no, no, no, no.
For bringing hope
and light to the Chechen people,
for keeping your promise.
And I promise that I'll
continue to keep it.
-NATALYA: To Anna.
-(CHUCKLES)
-To Anna.
-Mm.
You see?
My cousin, Anzor,
is her personal driver.
They are very famous.
Isn't the target on
my back big enough?
Time for sweet things, huh?
ANNA:
Yeah.
()
Have you ever met
any of these men?
Never.
They're Chechen civilians
who disappeared on
or around January the 2nd.
Now, I've been in contact
with people from their village
who allege that members of your
militia unit detained these men
and then over a series of days,
and under
your strict supervision,
subjected them to torture.
Do you know this man?
Salambek Turamov.
Our sources allege that
you tortured Salambek,
before you dragged him
to a cell
at the October district offices
and killed him.
Do you care to comment?
You're accusing me of murder?
Salambek's parents are.
Take down this statement...
(SPITS)
"I am an officer in the army
of the Russian Federation...
not a murderer."
But write your little story.
No one will read it beyond
a few liberal faggots in Moscow.
ANNA:
It's true,
we don't have the number
of readers of other papers,
but you see,
there's only one number
that matters to me,
and that's the number of
prosecutors needed to bring
charges of first-degree murder
against an officer
of the Russian Army.
And that number is one.
I think we're done here,
aren't we?
You do know
I could slit your throat
and let you bleed out
like a pig?
Thank you for taking the time
to talk to me, Major.
Now, if you don't mind,
my driver is expecting me.
()
-Good morning.
-Morning.
Uh, what happened
to my desk?
It's well--
well, it's neat.
Oh, it's uh, probably
the new intern.
She just showed up.
She was a cub reporter
for a local newspaper.
Says she wants
to be a proper journalist.
Yeah, well, she wants to
stay away from my desk.
(CHUCKLES)
I like you pissed off.
That's how I want you to
address the Security Council.
Oh. Thank you.
I'm Anna.
I know.
What are you doing right now?
Um, I'm making coffees.
Well, you're not gonna learn
how to be a journalist
doing that. Okay?
I want you to help me draft
our statement to the UN.
Call Natalya, tell her
that you work for me.
I want a list of every complaint
against Russian troops
in Chechnya
in the last six months,
and then plan to spend the rest
of the day making calls.
Oh, and uh,
I'll have a tea, no sugar.
ANNA: I dislike Putin,
because he despises his people.
He sees us simply as a means
to his ends,
a means for the achievement
and retention of power.
He believes he can do
with us as he sees fit.
"Because we are nobody.
While he who chances
and able to clamber to the top.
is today Czar and God.
In Russia, we have had leaders
with this outlook before.
Led to tragedy, to bloodshed on
a vast scale,
and to civil wars."
"I do not want that.
So, I dislike this
typical Soviet Chekist."
Or a member of the
old secret police.
I know what Checkist means.
Only no one else
outside Russia will.
Well, if-- if I'd have known
the Associated Press
were gonna pick it up,
well, then, I would
have phrased it differently.
"I don't like this typical
Soviet Chekist
as he struts down
the red carpet
of the Kremlin throne room
as if he actually owns it.
The gold is polished
and shines.
Servants smile obediently.
Comrades,
former KGB colleagues
promoted way
beyond their limited talents
by his, assume a dignified air."
Jesus Christ.
(SIGHS)
Well, it's powerful,
Putin as emperor.
Someone had to say it,
I suppose.
Maybe someone in a position
of power
will take five minutes
out of their busy day
and look up Chechnya on a map.
()
SASHA: What?
What are you looking at?
Hmm?
Nothing.
()
Oh, thank you.
()
Excuse me, do you mind?
Nope, nope.
You're a writer.
Hmm.
It's just a guess.
You've got that haunted look of
someone with a deadline to meet.
I wish I could write.
I'd write about history.
The old czars, Ivan, Peter.
I mean, nowadays, you can say
what you want about them
and no one seems to care,
but back then...
And you had to be bloody careful
what you said about the church.
It was all in the Stoglav.
Do you know what that was?
It was a record of the czar's
questions to the clergy
and their responses.
It established the code
of canon law.
And what writers
were allowed to express.
These are amazing.
I can see why you come here
every morning.
What are you?
You need to stop.
Stop what?
Criticizing the czar?
Understand, it makes
no difference to me.
Me, personally,
I enjoy your column.
I look forward to it.
Your passion,
your concern for humanity,
your fondness
for the Chechen people,...
all of that is commendable.
But it doesn't change
your situation.
And what is
my situation exactly?
Been nice to meet you.
Morning.
-Good morning.
-Hi.
(MACHINE BEEPING)
Oh, come on.
(CARD BEEPING)
Oh, Gregor. Hi.
Yeah.
-I'll be a minute.
-Sasha.
-What have they done?
-Sasha?
Yeah.
I need to have a little chat
with you.
Well, now? I'm late.
Come with me, my friend,
because this is completely out
of my hands.
(INDISTINCT SPEECH)
()
()
(WOMAN CHATTERS)
()
-Hey.
-Hey.
-What's wrong?
-Nothing.
-Who is that?
-He--
It's no one.
-Leave it, Ilya--
-But why is he staring at you?
I-- I don't know.
Just come on. Ilya.
Ilya, leave it, please.
Hey!
Oi!
(DOOR CLOSES)
ANNA:
Oh, Ilya, he's gone.
Ayi, yai, yai.
Oh.
This place is a mess.
I've been back a week.
I-- I can't get into it.
No, it's his mess.
He should clean it.
Your father, well, he's--
he's having a hard time.
He hates not working.
Look, stop making
excuses for him.
Look, look, look, Ilya.
Hey.
It's okay.
No, it's not okay, all right?
It's-- it's-- it's not.
None of this is okay.
Not papa, not strangers
stalking you in the street.
Oh, oh--
Probably the unhinged subject
of some article
you've written who now
has it in for you
or the fact that,
for the past two years,
I've woken up every morning
and wondered if today
is gonna be the day
that I get a call from someone
telling me
my mother's been found
in a ditch, right?
It-- it-- it is all so not okay.
Ilya...
SASHA:
Oh.
Thought it was you.
Hi.
Hello. Welcome home.
Are you uh, you gonna stay
for dinner?
No.
Oh, Ilya.
Ilya!
Why is he upset?
What did you say?
What'd you say to him?
You know, as much as I love
working all day then,
oh, doing the shopping
and then, ooh, making dinner,
it would be nice
if maybe you did it
for a change.
SASHA: Yeah, I'm busy!
I'm doing something.
-ANNA: Doing what?
-I'm logging the death threats.
Why?
Oh.
-Sasha.
-Talking of which,
your favorite war criminal
called today.
I saved it for you.
Here you go.
LAPIN: (ON RECORDING)
Hear that?
You're dead.
I'm gonna cut your tits off
and feed them to the beast dogs.
Yeah?
Last time,
it was your uterus.
Something tells me
mad Major Lapin's
got serious mommy issues.
No one's asking you to do this.
We need a record.
And anyway...
what else am I gonna do?
Have you written
any more query letters?
I've written plenty
of letters, all right?
No one's writing back.
ANNA: You will.
It's just a matter of time--
-It's--
-And it will happen.
It's just like the old days.
Can't you feel it?
It's like someone's pried open
Stalin's crypt
and the stench is in the air.
What about Vasily?
-Have you called him--
-Please don't.
Just...
They're all shit scared of him.
Big joke. They're not
even trying to get to me.
-Sorry. I'm so-- I--
-No, no. No.
I've got to make dinner.
Sorry.
SOPHIA:
Excuse me, can I help you?
I need to speak to Anna,
Anna Politkovskaya.
SOPHIA:
One minute.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Excuse me? Hey.
You can't go here.
Stop him.
What's going on?
Whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
You need to have
an appointment here.
You can't just barge in here.
-You're s--
-Hold on, hold on.
It's okay.
You know this guy?
I've seen him around.
Can I help you?
Army?
Lance corporal.
Semenov, Ivan.
5th Army,
Motorized Rifle Brigade.
You fought in Gudermes?
You guys took heavy casualties.
They took more.
Look,
I know you want to
tell me something,
because you've
been following me.
They lied.
They said it was for rubbish.
Right. Ivan, come with me.
-It's okay. Please.
-Anna--
Let him go.
Dmitry, I'm okay, honestly.
Please, this way.
Follow me.
-You sure?
-Positive.
Take a seat.
We dug the trench,
me and some guys from my squad.
It was the staff sergeant
who said they planned
to bury rubbish in it.
I had no reason
not to believe him.
The next day, a bunch of special
forces showed up at the camp.
They were ethnic Chechens
who'd fought
against the Russians at first,
then switched sides.
I couldn't figure out
why they were there.
Then a large group
of non-combatants
was herded out of the camp
and marched towards
the edge of the trench,
the one we'd dug
to bury the rubbish.
The special forces were waiting
with their rifles.
The camp was dismantled
a week later
and went away without a trace...
an entire camp.
Do you um,
do you think you
could draw a map?
You promise not
to publish my name?
If you promise you're not lying.
DMITRY:
Anna.
You know, the whole time it has
been right under my nose.
What?
The camp that Corporal Semenov
was assigned to, you know?
He reckons there's over
two hundred bodies buried there
and according to him,
the same thing is happening
all over the region.
You know, if this checks out,
you know what this is?
Yeah.
-You're not going down there.
-Why not?
Because you're due to address
the Security Council
in five days.
Well, that can wait.
Oh, for God's sake, Anna!
You have been invited
to bear witness
by the British delegation
to the United Nations, right?
It is not some nail salon
you can call up
and change an appointment
anytime you want.
Look, Semenov came to me,
because I'm the only one
he can trust.
No. He trusts this newspaper!
(THUDS)
DMITRY: And that is
who you work for,
not the other way around.
Oh.
Okay. I-- I get it.
I get it, okay?
Chechnya's your baby.
Well, this newspaper is mine.
And it certainly isn't
because of the money.
I could earn twice as
much anywhere else, right?
But then I'd be in
the bullshit business.
And that is why I was so happy
when the invitation came
from the UN.
I saw Kofi Annan's signature
and I thought, "Okay.
Maybe we are doing
something right." Okay?
And by we, I don't mean you
and me.
I mean every single person
who has ever walked through
that door and given a damn.
Okay?
Hey, hey, hey!
-Hey, hey, hey.
-Someone-- there's someone here.
(CAMERA CLICKS)
ANNA: I came here
with a speech
about an illegal occupation
and its devastating effects
on civilians in Chechnya.
But in the last 48 hours,
I have received evidence
that confirms systematic
mass killings
on a scale
I could never imagine.
The site contains over
a 150 murdered civilians,
many of whom were found
with their hands tied
behind their backs
with barbed wire
and many showing
signs of torture.
We expect many more
mass graves to be found.
Now, the Kremlin is doing
everything possible
to keep this a secret.
It wants the world to believe
that Russia is waging a war
against terrorists,
when in fact
its real purpose is
a dedicated campaign of genocide
against the people of Chechnya.
EGOROV:
Yes, sir. I saw it.
Understood, sir.
Yes, thank you.
ANNA: People can pay
with their lives
for saying out loud
what they believe.
(BANGING)
ANNA: Just talking to me
can put someone in danger.
GRU AGENT:
Where is he?
MAARET:
He's not here.
No. No, no, no.
He's not here.
He's in Regita.
Come back.
He's not here!
Where are you going?
(DOGS BARKING)
(GRUNTS)
MAARET:
Oh my God. Leave him. Leave him.
Don't go after him.
Leave him alone!
Please!
()
(PANTING)
(GUNFIRE)
On your knees.
(PANTING)
()
SASHA:
Mm.
Hey, The Godfather' s on
in a bit.
Ah. Well, shame we'll miss it.
Well, we could always
get room service,
stay in like the old days.
Well, um,
and when they ask me
why I didn't turn up
to receive my award,
I'll say, "Oh.
Well, there was an old movie
on the TV
-and I wanted to watch."
-It's not an old movie.
It's The Godfather.
You love The Godfather.
You love The Godfather.
I've just been pretending to.
Now, get ready.
(PHONE RINGING)
Hi.
MAARET: (ON PHONE)
Anzor has been arrested.
What?
MAARET: (ON PHONE)
They have taken my son.
Well, where have they taken him?
()
What?
What?
Everything all right?
Let's go.
[GRUNTS]
[GRUNTS, WHIMPERS]
-[CHEERING]
-SASHA: Yeah.
Thank you.
No, it's not like the old days,
is it?
When we started out,
if you won an award,
you had to get yourself killed
or at least, lose a couple
of legs or something, right?
They'd put a picture up
on the newsroom
of a coffee machine that said,
"Never to be forgotten."
Next person in they'd be,
"Who's that?"
-Right?
-[SHUSHES]
And now for the final award
of the evening.
The Global Award
for Human Rights Journalism
was established to recognize
the immense importance
of journalists around the world.
This year, the award
goes to Anna Politkovskaya.
Yeah!
Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.
[PEOPLE WHISTLING]
ANNA:
War has two sides.
I say it has three.
The innocent civilians
caught in the middle
of what I can only describe
as a medieval, brutal war.
And I would like
to dedicate this award
to those extraordinary,
brave people.
[CHEERING, APPLAUSE]
Sorry, if I embarrassed
you, all right?
I'd had a few glasses of wine.
Oh, good, Sasha.
Blame the wine.
Jesus, everybody
loved you, all right?
Everybody loved your speech.
How long are you gonna stay
angry for?
Look, it's stained on it--
No, this is not about the dress!
-With the water.
-This...
this is about you
and how you wallow
in your self-pity.
Oh, uh, uh, uh,
when I try and help you,
you resent me like you
resent everything I do.
I have no idea
what you're--
-what are you talking about?
-Look, you-- you were a star.
You got the treatment everywhere
you went, including at home.
And then
the unthinkable happened.
Your wife stopped
playing second fiddle.
Yeah, the-- this,
it's so far from the mark.
-It is so wrong.
-I'm right!
Yeah. Uh, you're right
about anything.
I mean, you're always fucking
right about everything,
aren't you?
I mean, you're right
about not liking sitting
at home doing nothing.
You're right.
I don't like sitting about
with nothing to do for years.
And whose fault is that?
Uh, it's not mine, is it?
-Obviously--
-I mean, is it?
-It's not.
-So...
So, you're blaming me like
you blame me for everything.
Who the fuck else is to blame?
-No.
-No, I'm-- I'm-- I'm sorry.
Look, Sasha, Sasha, I--
I don't care anymore.
(ELEVATOR DINGS)
[SOBBING]
()
(RAIN PATTERING)
BELLHOP:
May I take your bag, sir?
Yes, please.
I um, I spoke to Vasily.
He's gonna let me crash there
just for a little while.
That's good for Vasily.
How long you sticking around?
I think a few more days.
There's people here.
I, uh...
Listen...
you're a better writer
than me.
I know that's not easy
for you to say.
(CAR DOOR CLOSES)
Hello?
MAARET: (ON PHONE)
They uh, beat him...
and then left him to die
like a piece of rubbish.
Oh, Maaret.
MAARET: (ON PHONE)
They've taken everything.
A brother, my husband,
my children.
That's all war does, takes.
And it's never enough.
Two centuries of taking,
it still wants more.
I'm so sorry.
[SOBS]
()
[AUDIENCE LAUGH]
[AUDIENCE CLAPS]
You know,
if you two do get tired
of watching this extremely
long costume drama
in which literally nothing
actually happens,
I think there's
a football game on.
No?
Okay.
ANNA: No one is reporting
on the terrible impact
of the war.
The tactics employed
by the Kremlin
to suppress so-called terrorism
is itself creating a wave
of violence
the like of which
has never been experienced.
[AUDIENCE LAUGH]
AGENT 1:
Get the fuck off the stage!
Move it fucking now!
(SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
[AUDIENCE SHOUTS]
(GUNFIRE)
You're all going to die
unless you do exactly as we say.
Call your loved ones.
Tell them
you have been taken hostage
by the Reconnaissance
and Sabotage Battalion
of Vedeno.
Right, does anyone
want anything?
-I'm good, thank you.
-Ilya?
(MOBILE VIBRATES)
Nikolai Agapov reporting live
from the Dubrovka Theater
in Moscow,
which has been taken over
by Chechen terrorists.
-Oh my God.
-NIKOLAI: ...to detonate bombs.
Just after 9:00 p.m.
this evening,
-dozens of heavily--
-Turn it down.
...Chechens stormed
the theater--
So, who is this?
EGOROV: (ON PHONE)
Egorov, the Russian Federation.
What do you want?
I'm calling to tell you
what the terrorists want.
And that is?
EGOROV: (ON PHONE)
You.
Me?
EGOROV: (ON PHONE)
Yeah, to mediate negotiations.
According to their leader,
you're the only Russian
that the entire Chechen
population trusts.
I need you to come to the
Dubrovka Theater immediately.
When you get there,
you will ask for me,
and one of my men
will escort you
to the command center.
Okay.
Mama?
They um, they want me
to help with negotiations.
Over the phone, right?
No.
(SIGHS)
-Oh my God.
-NIKOLAI: A woman in her 40s
murdered while attending
a theater show.
So, these are the people you're
supposed to talk sense to?
A-- a-- and you're supposed
to go in there and do what?
Make them see the fucking light?
Ilya, if there's anything
I can do to help, then I will.
Of course.
That's all I've ever
heard my entire life.
The innocent,
and the powerless
-and how much they need you.
-Ilya, Ilya.
-Yeah, it never ends, ma.
-Ilya, Ilya, listen to me.
No, because this is the world!
And the world will never run out
of victims no matter what you
or anyone else does
to change it.
So tell me, mama,
where do we fit in?
-So, no, no--
-This is not about you!
So, tell me!
I mean, granted, we're only
your flesh and blood, right?
Yeah, we're not full fucking
members of the Wretched
-and Exploited--
-Oh.
(GASPS)
-Ilya, I--
-No, no.
Ilya.
You're not going.
You're not.
You're staying right here.
-It's her choice.
-No, no.
I'm not watching you die!
Listen to yourself.
Mama, please be careful.
(DOOR CLOSES)
I've sent Marta
and the metro team.
I'd love to assign you,
but it looks like you're busy.
Now do me a favor,
try not to piss anyone off.
I know it's hard for you.
Oh, I'll try.
You'll never get a cab.
That was a friend in DC,
it's all over the news there.
My contact in London
says the same.
Well done, lads.
You hit them big time.
(SIRENS BLARING)
Why are you doing this?
You're not a parent.
Maybe someday
you'll have children
and-- and when you do,
your children
will look at the world
that you have handed them
and-- and they will judge you,
not whether you,
you succeeded in making
the world a better place
or didn't make the world
a better place,
but it...
They will judge you
on how hard you tried.
This is as far as I go.
Said I'd take you to them,
but I'm not handing you over.
Go, mama.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
MAN 2:
No one interrupt.
Sir?
EGOROV:
Thank you for coming, Anna.
So, you're not going in there
to report or observe.
No public statements,
no interviews.
You keep your mouth shut
and you keep your opinions
to yourself
until the situation is resolved.
And then I'm free to say
whatever I like, hmm?
Lieutenant Colonel Egorov.
Well, that's entirely up to you.
The leader's name
is Musa Barayev,
a well-established
Chechen separatist.
We estimate 30-plus terrorists
and 800 hostages.
The children are still inside,
getting them out
should be your main priority.
We've also been able to tap
into the theater's CCTV cameras,
mainly focused on the entrances
and exits,
so we should have visual
on you most of the time.
But if anything does go wrong,
there's not a lot we can do.
Oh, we have a flak jacket.
ANNA:
There's no need.
They've killed two
hostages already.
They're savages.
You trust savages?
Well, if they are savages,
then a flak jacket
isn't gonna be much help
to me, is it?
Shall we?
Ma'am.
()
She's going in.
She's completely alone.
She'll be fine.
How much time do your men need?
Two to three hours.
SOLDIER 1:
Copy, she's in.
Give the order.
Sir.
Hello?
Hello?
ABU BAKR:
Hello.
I am Abu Bakr.
I'm Anna.
It is an honor to meet you,
Anna Politkovskaya.
Back home they write songs
about you.
One claims you are the
bravest woman in Russia.
I'm here to see Barayev.
Of course.
Come with me.
BARAYEV: What the fuck? What--
what the fuck is this shit?
Are you guys stupid?
Take this...
Fucking imbeciles.
Tell your readers
we are not jihadists, okay,
in spite of what some would
have you believe.
It's a pleasure to meet you.
They're children under 13.
You made a deal.
You need to let them go.
Okay.
Okay.
All children under 13 years old,
line up on the stairs
with me now.
[PEOPLE CRYING]
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
-Is this your wife?
-Yeah, she's diabetic.
(SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
-There we go.
-Thank you.
FATIMA:
Children.
Come.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
AGENT 4:
[SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
(DOOR SLAMS)
We've gone past the point
of no return.
Either the war stops now
or we blow up the hostages.
Well--
And that's your message?
Look, I understand.
I know the situation
in Chechnya is intolerable.
Let me help you make a deal.
There must be an immediate halt
to all security sweeps.
If he agrees,
the older children can go.
And what's to stop him resuming
sweeps in two days, huh?
[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]
If you let the children go,
it's a gesture, Abu Bakr,
and I'm telling you,
it's an important one.
AGENT 4:
(SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
She wants to talk to you.
Thank you.
He says you need to call off
the security sweeps.
First he releases those 13
and over,
then I'll order a halt
in all districts except Vedeno.
First, he says you have to let
the older children go.
()
FATIMA:
Anna.
Fatima.
Ah, we've come a long way.
On very different paths.
You choose words,
I choose action.
These men...
...they're using you.
You're wrong.
These are good men.
They fight for a great cause.
Your husband, if he was alive,
well, he would--
would he stand with them?
Men who prey on the vulnerable,
who--
who give them no choice,
but what,
to murder innocent people
in the name of what?
Peace?
Cover your face, Fatima.
Leave with me now.
Beg the court for mercy.
It's the only way you're
gonna get out of here alive.
All right.
The rest of the children can go.
And the women?
Maybe.
You need to go.
And you need to keep on talking.
Otherwise,
how is this going to end?
When Chechnya is free.
That's when this will end.
Goodbye, Anna.
(GAS HISSING)
(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)
(GUNFIRE)
What the--
No. What-- not that--
No. Get, get--
The fuck is going on?
NESTOR: Alpha team
storming the building.
Christ, the war has come home.
[PEOPLE COUGHING]
What was that?
[COUGHING]
ANNA:
No, what?
-No, get, get--
-It's all right.
-It's all right.
-Get off!
Let her go.
(SIGHS)
Wh--
What the hell have you done?
You used me.
You used me to stall for time.
We each have a job to do, Anna.
We saved
a lot of innocent lives
and a few Chechens
are put to sleep.
Job well done.
I understand it was
the president
who came up with the idea,
but don't quote me.
Look, you're maniacs.
You're-- you're all
fucking maniacs.
(GUNFIRE)
[YELLS]
()
(GUNSHOT)
NEWS MAKERS HOST:
So, you're accusing
the president of murder?
ANNA:
Last month he ordered the use
of chemical weapons
on civilians,
a 170 people died.
So, w-- w-- what, what
would you call it?
It was an opioid-laced gas,
correct?
Fentanyl.
A tranquilizer used
to make people fall asleep.
Not to kill them.
You see these people?
Now, they're civilians,
not terrorists,
and they are not sleeping.
Fentanyl causes
respiratory depression.
Now, the victims should have
been turned on their sides in--
in order to keep
their airways open.
Instead, they were left
on their backs,
ensuring they asphyxiated.
Now, as you can see,
the ER personnel
are completely caught
by surprise
at the number of victims
needing their care.
Now, if they had been informed
ahead of time--
-Wh-- why weren't they?
-Secrecy.
See, our team uncovered
that the operation
was classified
under need-to-know restrictions.
And that, well, then that
included people
who could have saved lives.
And the fact that 30 terrorists
took hundreds hostage?
The only terrorist
that the Russian people
need to fear...
is their own president.
(STATIC)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
You have to see this.
REPORTER 2: (ON TV)
Reports just coming in
from the town of Beslan
in North Ossetia.
The Chechen separatists
have entered the school
and taken many hostages.
It's a terrible reminder
of the Dubrovka Theater scene
with hundreds of staff
and people still trapped inside.
Oh, no.
Anna, this is not your war.
Uh, uh, listen, D-- Dmitry,
uh, someone needs to negotiate.
I have to try.
DMITRY: (ON PHONE)
Last time I checked,
you were supposed
to be a journalist.
But-- but I-- I am
and you know that
and why I need to be there
on the ground.
DMITRY: (ON PHONE)
Just be careful.
My contact on the ground
will meet you
and take you to the school.
The government is saying
200 to 400 hostages,
but my contact in Ossetia
is saying it's more like 1100,
700 children.
Good luck.
ANNA:
Thank you.
ELENA:
Be careful!
Welcome aboard.
Thank you.
-Tea or coffee, madam?
-No, thank you.
-Tea or coffee, madam?
-Tea, please.
FLIGHT ATTENDANT:
Your tea ma'am.
Oh, thank you.
Miss?
Miss?
[TAKING BREATHS]
Miss?
[GASPING]
(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)
(WHIMPERS)
VERA:
Mama.
Mama, you're awake.
Here water, water.
-[COUGHS]
-Ilya?
Yeah, she's awake.
Okay.
Okay.
Ilya's on his way.
Okay, I'm gonna go
and get a nurse. Okay?
Wha-- what happened?
The hostages?
Mum.
What happened?
()
The rebels set off a bomb
inside the gymnasium.
That is if you
believe the Kremlin.
There were casualties, mama.
How many?
The number keeps changing,
but...
at the moment
they're saying over 300 dead.
Huh?
Including all the separatists.
Huh?
How many children?
-VERA: Mama, you need to rest.
-Vera, how many children?
The majority.
[SOBBING]
You were right.
You said she would
fight to live.
God is great.
Garry Kasparov
was on TV yesterday.
He called you,
"the conscience of the nation".
Yeah, well, Garry Kasparov
should stick to playing chess.
(CHUCKLES)
DMITRY:
Good morning.
Have you seen this?
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
CROWD:
Anna!
Anna!
Anna!
Anna!
Anna!
I'm no saint.
Far from it.
Ask the mothers of Beslan.
Well, don't tell them.
(CHUCKLES)
Mother Russia.
(CHUCKLES)
-Far from it.
-CROWD: Anna!
Anna!
Anna!
Anna!
-Anna!
-Thank you.
Anna! Anna! Anna!
Okay, stay back please.
Stay back.
-Anna!
-Anna!
-Anna!
-Anna!
-Anna!
-Anna!
-Anna!
-Anna!
ILYA:
Excuse me, thank you.
-Anna!
-Anna!
-Anna!
-Anna!
Careful, careful.
Anna! Anna! Anna!
You all right?
ANNA:
Yeah.
-Let's go home.
-ANNA: Okay.
ANNA: A reporter should
never be the story.
I am not a politician.
I am just another face
in the crowd in Moscow,
St. Petersburg, and Chechnya,
doing my job.
And I do not intend to stop.
-Hi, how are you?
-ANNA: Good.
What are you doing tomorrow?
ANNA: (ON PHONE)
Tomorrow?
Planning on coming in to work.
Why?
Well, I was thinking
of taking the day off.
You wanna join me?
Okay.
All right.
Uh, 12:00,
the bandstand, Drewsbury Park.
Right. See you then.
DMITRY: (ON PHONE)
See you there.
Bye.
()
[GRUNTS]
My feet got fat.
When was the last time
you wore them?
Oh, 30 years ago.
Used to go to Gorky Park
on Saturday afternoons
to dance the cha-cha.
(CHUCKLES)
What?
-The cha-cha?
-Yeah, the cha-cha.
(LAUGHS)
I was quite a hoofer.
Ask my wife.
(LAUGHS)
You know, I met
Sasha at a tea dance.
-You're kidding.
-Mm.
And he kept stepping on my feet.
Luckily for him,
he was so good-looking.
-You see, I like this.
-Hmm?
We're hanging out.
We never hang out.
It's always work, work, work.
Voulez-vous danser?
All the other papers
have a travel writer.
How come we don't?
ANNA:
Because we can't afford one.
DMITRY:
Not according to our accountant.
According to him, we've had
our best quarter ever,
thanks to you.
Mm.
So, do you know anyone
who can write a bit
and doesn't mind sleeping
in strange beds?
What's wrong, Dima?
Do you want me to stop
stepping on people's toes?
They never come for me.
All the years
I've been doing this,
I've had plenty of threats,
but not once.
They just...
killed my reporters,
my friends.
Anna, please.
I'm not asking you to stop,
just step out
of the firing line
and you keep the column.
You just shift the focus
from murder and corruption
to bed and breakfasts.
(CHUCKLES)
I'll think about it.
Right.
(CHUCKLES)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Natalya sent it.
It's a video of two men
killing Chechen civilians,
possibly on the order
of Chechen regional leaders
or, or quite possibly
Putin himself.
You'll need to authenticate it.
I don't understand.
Knock yourself out.
But it's your lead.
And you're ready.
-[SPITS]
-(TELEPHONE RINGING)
Hello?
EGOROV: (ON PHONE)
Egorov.
Oh, h-- hi.
EGOROV: (ON PHONE)
I understand you wanna meet.
Y-- yes.
But in public.
I want lots of people around.
EGOROV: (ON PHONE)
As you wish.
Tomorrow, 11:00,
the art museum.
Um, o-- okay.
I'll-- I'll-- I'll--
I'll see you then.
EGOROV: (ON PHONE)
Sleep well.
Goodnight.
()
Sorry, I'm late.
There was a queue.
Black tea, no sugar.
You just wasted a perfectly
good untainted drink.
And you almost wasted
a perfectly good reporter.
Look, I know this may sound
disingenuous,
but I am glad you're alive.
So, that means I don't have
to worry
about you putting another
wet team onto me?
Not my call.
Well, whose call is it?
I can't answer that.
Can't or won't?
The reason I ask is
because I've been reassigned
to the travel desk.
That's why I'm asking you
to speak to someone for me.
I can pass along
the information.
Pass along wh--
Look, I'm middle management.
These decisions they, um...
My mandate is circumscribed.
Ah.
In other words, I'm screwed.
-I don't make the rules.
-No, you just follow them.
So, can I ask you something?
You know,
out of all the paths
you could have chosen in life,
why did you choose this one?
I could ask you
the same question.
Well, I chose the path
that I believe in.
I didn't.
You know all this,
this was a slum,
until Ivan the Great kicked out
the residents
and built a palace.
Not because he was cruel,
but because he had a vision.
He saw a shining city rising
from that hell hole,
and beyond that,
a mighty empire
straddling two continents.
And here we are,
500 years later,
a journalist pleading
for a life in a--
in a country run
by a glorified thug,
celebrating the opening
of its first Starbucks.
I don't expect you
to understand.
Do you have children?
Why do you wanna know?
No, I don't have any children.
But you're married?
I'm single.
And in case you're wondering,
both my parents are dead.
What's your point?
So, you have no one?
EGOROV: What you mean,
no one who gives a shit
if I live or die?
I'm...
You what?
Sorry.
I'm on good terms
with the director,
and he's on good terms
with someone
who's in a position to help
you, so I'll make a request.
Thank you.
Goodbye, Anna.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
[VERA CHUCKLES]
-Find anything?
-Mm.
(CHUCKLES)
VERA:
You?
Oh. (CHUCKLES)
Oh.
(CHUCKLES)
Don't yell.
-Vera!
-Yeah?
Oh.
She's having a baby.
(CHUCKLES)
Oh.
Sasha, of course, I'd be happy
if it was a boy.
Wouldn't you like
a granddaughter?
SASHA:
Oh, well, girls--
Yeah, well, they're sweeter,
especially when they're younger.
SASHA:
I'll bet.
I know I was.
SASHA:
You still are.
-God, we're old.
-Yeah.
SASHA:
We're gonna be grandparents.
I know.
SASHA:
We should talk about it.
-I mean--
-Okay.
SASHA: Like, get it right.
You know what I mean?
Right. Oh.
SASHA: You want me
to get me off the phone?
I got a lot of shopping,
Sasha, that's why.
SASHA:
You mean fur coats?
No.
Well, Ilya's coming for dinner
this evening
-with his new girlfriend.
-SASHA: No.
-I know.
-SASHA: Oh God.
- Are you cooking up a feast?
-Yeah, Vera's coming, too.
SASHA:
Great.
Why don't you come?
-SASHA: What time?
-8:00.
-SASHA: All right, great.
-Yeah.
-SASHA: Yeah, I'd love it.
-Okay.
SASHA:
I'll bring some wine, yeah?
-Yeah. Well--
-SASHA: Okay, love.
Okay. I'll see you then.
Bye, bye.
SASHA:
Bye.
Oh.
(GUNSHOTS)
[GASPING]
ASSASSIN:
Let go.
-Let go.
-No!
(GUNSHOT)
ANNA: Is journalism worth
the loss of life every time?
Is the price of truth
how much a society cares?
No.
There is nothing of value
apart from the truth.
()
I'm on a roll
I'm on a roll this time
I feel my luck could change
Pull me out
of the air crash
Pull me out of the lake
'Cause I'm your super hero
We're standing on the edge
The head of state
has called for me by name
But I don't have time
for him
It's gonna be a glorious day
I feel my luck could change
Pull me out
of the air crash
Pull me out of the lake
'Cause I'm your super hero
We're standing on the edge
()
()
()
()
ANNA: Do you still think
that the world is vast?
That if there is a war
in one place,
it has no bearing on another?
And that you can
sit it out in peace...
ignoring all that you see?
We continue to slumber
as if the war being fought
within our borders
was not already
in its fifth year.
As if Chechnya was
as far from Europe
as the moon.
()
(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)
()
(SIRENS BLARING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Come on. Let's go.
(SIRENS BLARING)
DMITRY:
Anna Politkovskaya.
I want to see the test results.
RECEPTIONIST:
That's not our normal procedure.
Well, she's not
a normal patient.
Sorry, are you a relative?
No, I'm her boss.
The results should be here.
I know, because I printed
them out earlier.
You think they
got deleted somehow?
Not only her test results...
there's no record
of her ever being admitted.
(WHIMPERS)
You're gonna be okay.
MILA:
She's a fighter.
Your mother will live.
-What is it?
-We need to get her out of here.
Her records are missing.
()
ILYA:
You sure about this?
We don't have a choice.
It's not safe here.
They're gonna let her die.
(CELLPHONE RINGING)
Where are you?
Huh?
Two minutes.
Careful.
Stop, stop, stop, stop.
Is she okay?
-DMITRY: Now hurry.
-Go.
()
Careful!
Seats.
-Okay.
-Easy, easy.
It's all right.
-Come on, come on.
-DMITRY: Come on now.
Okay, 1, 2, 3.
Watch her head.
Watch her head!
What are you doing?
The hospital in Likhovskoy
is almost 12 hours away.
If something happens,
are any of you trained?
Let's go.
You're gonna be okay, mama.
Transmission's been slipping,
but it should get you there.
(SIRENS BLARES)
You're paranoid.
Goddamn right I am.
()
(BATS SCREECHING)
(HORN HONKING)
Alexei, thank you.
-Thank you.
-Of course. Right.
Let's get her inside, ICU!
Quick as you can.
1, 2, 3, 4.
-Ca-- careful.
-Okay.
Okay.
Mind her head.
VERA: Papa, they've run
a thousand tests
but they know less than
when they started.
SASHA:
Stupid, stupid woman.
I told you
you cannot keep poking a bear
and expect him not
to bite back.
So, this is mama's fault?
SASHA:
No, no, it's mine, it's mine.
Should've fought harder.
Should've stopped her going
to the fucking country.
-I practically cheered her on.
-SASHA: No.
Hey, sweetheart, listen.
Your mum makes her own mind up.
All you've ever done
is loved her,
just like she loved you
and your brother.
Okay?
You think about that.
(SIGHS)
SASHA:
Darling?
You, you okay?
-Vera?
-Yeah, you um...
you said, "loved".
Sorry.
No, I-- I-- what I meant--
I'll call you
if anything changes.
Is it okay if I pray?
(SPEAKS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
()
ANNA:
Hello.
I'm Anna.
Who would like some pencils?
(CHUCKLES)
Can I give you those?
Thank you.
Thank you, thank you.
(CHUCKLES)
ANNA:
So, what happens to the ones
who don't get adopted?
If we can't place them in a
home before they reach 18,
they're transitioned.
So, forced out just in time
to get drafted.
No one's saying
the system is perfect.
The system doesn't work.
Hello.
My name's Anna.
She won't speak.
We call her "Angela",
for angel.
Russian soldiers found her
wandering the outskirts
of Grozny not long after
the invasion began.
They thought she looked Russian,
so they had her brought here.
So, you're Chechen?
Shh.
ANNA:
Sorry.
I like your doll, Angela.
Hmm?
Did something bad happen
to your doll in Grozny?
-Oh.
-Angela!
No. It's--
ASSISTANT CAREGIVER 1:
I'll-- I'll get the director.
No, please, please, it's um--
it's all right.
Don't-- don't punish her.
Oh. (CHUCKLES)
It was my fault.
I was being too nosy.
(CHUCKLES)
()
ANNA: Sasha, I-- I know.
I'm just saying.
I may be a little--
Yes. I know you're busy.
I'm busy, too. Okay.
Yes, we're busy people.
Right. Yes.
Bye, Sasha, bye, bye, bye.
-CO-WORKER 1: Morning.
-Oh, morning.
Bye.
-You're report.
-Oh, thank you, Pavan.
Thank you.
Relieved.
YURI: No. Whoa.
Wait, whoa, whoa.
No one is accusing anyone
of corruption, all right?
Our reporters just want to ask
you a few simple questions.
What kind of questions?
Well, uh, for example,
how does 2 billion rubles
allocated for
public building projects
end up being used
to build villas
in the south of Spain
for a bunch of rich guys?
You know what pisses me off?
Everything?
Well, besides that.
What, besides everything?
-Oysters.
-Huh?
There's a restaurant
in the Italian Alps,
it caters for wealthy Russians.
I've interviewed the owner.
I thought you were
writing about orphans.
Do you realize they have
eight kinds on the menu?
-Orphans?
-ANNA: Oysters.
Flown in from
all over the world.
Well, what's that got
to do with the article?
Well, the budgets for state-run
orphanages are being slashed.
Kids are going hungry.
No one gives a damn,
and least of all,
the nouveau riche
-who are getting fat off--
-Exotic shellfish.
Yeah, I get it.
What happened to your nose?
Well, doesn't it piss you off?
Well, yeah, it pisses me off,
but what am I gonna do?
I can't find
the Berezovsky file.
And don't let the things
you write about upset you.
They don't.
I start off upset, then I write.
Where did I put
that bloody file?
-Where was it?
-Mm.
(MUNCHES)
What's this?
-Toffee.
-Ugh.
-You don't like toffee?
-I like toffee.
(SPITS)
I don't like rat turd.
Well, you should work
for a state-run paper.
I hear the toffees there
are excellent.
Yeah.
I hear the reporters'
salaries are, too.
Why are you here?
I just love spending
time with you.
You want an extension?
Two, three days?
One.
Thank you.
-And it better be brilliant.
-ANNA: Yeah.
-And don't slam the door.
-(DOOR SLAMS)
SASHA:
Now, you must be aware
a lot of critics
are calling your book
flagrantly nationalistic.
You say that like
it's a bad thing.
I'm saying like the Soviet Union
dissolved in 1990,
and most people have
since moved on
from the idea
of a grander Russia.
HISTORIAN: If they have moved on
from land won
and fought for by the blood
of their forefathers,
then they are weak
and they are traitors.
That is an opinion, isn't it?
If you like it,
The Grander Russia
by our guest tonight,
Professor Vorobiev.
Something different tomorrow.
Look forward to seeing you then.
Goodnight.
CAMERAMAN:
And wrap.
Holy shit.
Thanks.
Phew.
Where did they find him?
-You were wonderful.
-Oh, yeah?
(CLEARS THROAT)
Your new friend looks
so particularly jolly.
-Who, Frankenstein's nephew?
-(CHUCKLES)
Secret police
stamped on his face?
I don't know
why we get all the attention.
It's not like I'm calling
for regime change live on TV.
Why not?
Because, darling, the man
has only just come to power
and-- and it would be impolite.
Well, then-- then call him out
for what he is,
an ex-KGB goon obsessed
with lining his own pockets.
That's a great idea.
I remember a time when you
wouldn't have thought twice.
I remember a time when you
knew how to duck a punch.
So, how was your day at the
cold face of truth, my darling?
Well, no one knows what
happened to her parents.
I mean, dead probably.
And she won't say.
And you couldn't
drag it out of her.
One-nil to the orphans.
Not funny, Sasha.
I feel for the girl.
Just being impartial.
You should try it sometime.
Then you wouldn't
be you, would you?
Let's have a look.
Ooh.
She's got a hell of a jab.
Yeah. Well, Putin hit her first.
Apart from your amazing rapport,
how's the piece going?
Oh.
Well, I've got one more
interview, then I will write,
Dimitri will publish,
and nothing will happen.
When Putin was assistant
mayor of Saint Petersburg...
he was banking 25% commission
on thousands
of unauthorized contracts
for food shipments,
most of which came back short
in the middle
of a food shortage.
Well, maybe look for any links
with the local mafia.
Uh, Nestor,
anything new in Chechnya?
I was thinking,
would it hurt to give him some
credit once in a while?
The Chechens started this thing.
What, so they
invaded themselves?
He put down a rebellion.
Barely 12 months later, all
that's left is some mopping up.
In my book,
that's a success story.
ANNA:
Sounds more like a fantasy.
Except I've sat down with
three of Putin's top generals.
Generals? Wow.
Then did you have his mother
on background?
And I was there.
In Grozny?
Wasn't on the list.
So, the army dictates
where you can go
and what you can see.
I mean, why pay someone
to go down there?
Maybe we should publish
the army's press releases
every week. I mean, whoa.
-Think of the savings.
-All right. All right.
-Ignore them.
-Dmitry, I um...
(CLEARS THROAT)
Well, I personally think our
whole approach to Chechnya,
it's-- well, it's wrong.
(MAN CLEARS THROAT)
I'm listening.
Well, maybe we should
vary our point of view.
I mean, right now, it's--
it's the Russian army's.
What if it was the Chechens?
Look, I--
I don't mean the rebels.
NESTOR:
I've tried.
The-- the few civilians I've met
won't talk to me,
because I'm Russian.
What am I supposed to do?
Pretend I'm from Bolivia?
How's your Spanish?
(CHUCKLE)
All right.
That's it. Thank you.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
She's right, you know?
About Nestor?
He's naive. He'll learn.
-He's fucking useless.
-(CHUCKLES)
And he's left his facts.
He's cheap.
No, if our readers want to be
fed propaganda,
they can read Tass
or switch on the TV.
That's not what we're about.
You know who'd agree with that?
Oh, here we go.
The reason why Gorbachev set up
this paper in the first place
and spent his Nobel Prize money
doing it is
so there'd be at least
one source--
DMITRY:
Of honest reporting.
I know.
I'm taking that photo down.
We don't need
a war correspondent down there,
Dmitry.
Everyone's got one of those.
So, what do we need?
Sorry to interrupt.
I read your orphanage piece.
You did a great job.
Thank you.
(DMITRY CLEARS THROAT)
-(KNOCKS)
-Oh, wh-- I...
I've just been chatting
with Yuri.
Hmm.
And we agree with you.
We don't think we need
a war correspondent in Chechnya.
We need a people correspondent.
Oh, good.
Someone who's um, sensitive,
empathetic,
but also tough-minded
and uh, willing to confront
the powerful
by asking hard questions...
even if it means
pissing them off.
ANNA: Well, it'll be a week
at most.
And-- and look, it's my job.
VERA:
I think it's a great idea.
-Thank you.
-How is it a great idea?
I mean, how is going to
a war zone even close
to a great idea?
Maybe Ilya
doesn't like Chechens.
Who said anything
about Chechens?
What, do you think,
because she's a woman
she can't handle herself?
Oh, and you think
a bullet cares?
I'm going to talk to people,
some of whom happen
to worship Allah,
and write about them.
And papa?
I mean, he's okay with this?
Absolutely.
That's the stupidest
fucking thing
I've ever heard in my life.
Did you know that the war
between Russia and Chechnya
is the longest ongoing conflict
in the world?
-I didn't. Did you--
-SASHA: Fuck's sake. Hey!
--Oh, God.
-I'm your husband, okay?
I'm the father of your kids.
I love you.
And I-- I-- I-- I need
you to stick around.
So, no, it's not happening.
You call Dmitry tomorrow,
you tell him you've changed
your mind.
Right? Right?
Have you finished?
I'm going, Sasha.
I'm going.
Oh, fuck. Christ.
Come on then, listen.
Listen, you give a copy
of your passport
and your itinerary to Dmitry.
No. In fact, to both of us,
and you don't go anywhere,
not-- not one yard off,
where we've seen written down
that you're going.
-Yes?
-Yes, right.
SASHA:
Okay?
Jesus Christ, you're
not going to fucking Disneyland.
People are killing each other.
Do you understand?
They're shooting each other.
They're blowing each other up.
You get in the middle and then
you're fucking dead, too.
Right.
-No, don't--
-Sasha, I--
No, don't Sasha me.
You promise me
you'll be careful.
I promise you that
I'll really be careful.
Shh.
-SASHA: Oh.
-(CHUCKLES)
()
Captain Turgenev,
you know as much as I'd like
to submit an article
about the back of your head,
it-- it-- it would be helpful
if we could stop
and talk to people.
Yeah, it would be, but we stop
in Khiris, not before.
Yes?
You know,
maybe we don't stop at all.
-(EXPLOSION)
-(MEN SHOUTING)
(GUNFIRE)
-(EXPLOSION)
-(MEN SHOUTING)
(GUNFIRE)
(SPEAKS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
JANUSZ:
Anna, get out!
Come on!
(GRUNTS, GASPS)
JANUSZ:
Come on!
Stay down!
(GUNFIRE)
(EXPLOSION)
First time in action?
Pretty cool, huh?
ANNA:
What's happening?
-Stay down!
-Okay, okay!
Stop shouting.
SOLDIER 1:
Moving clear!
(INDISTINCT SPEECH)
(GUNFIRE)
(BABY CRIES)
()
(WOMAN SHOUTS)
()
()
-Good.
-Thank you.
REPORTER 1: ...the battle
in Grozny is now underway.
The Russian Army Commander
has declared
that anyone remaining
in the city will be considered
a legitimate target
for artillery and air strikes.
(VERA CHUCKLES)
SASHA:
Uh, come on, not again.
ANNA: You can ignore him
if you want to.
SASHA: Well, she's not
the only one
who's been to a war zone,
you know?
VERA:
Hmm, dad.
SASHA: We were all lined up
behind a church wall.
-It's blowing up bit by bit.
-VERA: Come on, dad.
-ILYA: Papa, come on.
-SASHA: Excuse me.
How many times?
It's fine everybody's heard it,
it's a classic.
VERA: I have heard this story
nine times now.
So, and the machine gunfire's
like coming
through the belly of all that.
And they stopped
and this guy jumps out
and he goes, "Don't shoot,
man, we're journalists!
-I'm from the New York Times."
-(CHUCKLES)
And the guy says,
"Oh no, I hate your crosswords!"
-(IMITATES SHOOTING)
-(CHUCKLES)
-Blows the whole place up.
-ANNA: There you go.
WOMAN 1:
I would be so frightened.
You probably weren't
frightened at all.
Uh, I think I actually
pissed my pants.
-Sasha!
-SASHA: I did.
So, who is the scariest person
you've ever met?
Um, I wonder...
-Asshole.
-(CHUCKLING)
Was it?
I thought it was pork.
-Oh, no.
-WOMAN 1: I bet you're all glad
she isn't going back
to Chechnya.
-(WOMAN CHUCKLES)
-VERA: Awkward.
No.
(DISTANT EXPLOSIONS)
What's this? We need this
moving now, faster, come on.
Come on, people!
Let's move it along!
Let's go, now!
Come on!
Faster, guys, faster!
The entire city
is being emptied.
(CAMERA CLICKS)
They go to camps
near the border.
()
()
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING
IN DISTANCE)
()
ANNA:
Excuse me?
Excuse me, would you talk to me?
Uh, where were you...
Look, I'm a journalist.
Could you talk?
I'm just try--
Why won't anybody talk to me?
Look.
What's happened?
The Russian Army.
What?
Could you explain?
-What?
-Mm.
Please, what...
I just want to help.
I just want to help.
I'm just-- Look, I'm-- I'm--
Fuck this. Fuck.
()
-DMITRY: Hello?
-Dmitry?
-DMITRY: Anna?
-Dmitry?
Can you hear--
It's--
Oh, shit!
Hey, can I ask you something?
I thought a reporter's job was
to report and not help, huh?
In the case
of Russian reporters,
to spoon feed whatever version
of the truth
the Kremlin deems fit.
Well, that might be true
for some.
But not all.
The paper I work for believes
that people deserve the truth,
not lies.
They're choking on lies.
Oh, you think the truth
will go down easier?
-Would you talk to me?
-(SCOFFS)
I took the word of
a Russian reporter once.
I swore never again.
Please! (INDISTINCT SPEECH)
(HORN HONKS)
Politkovskaya!
Let's go. Time to go.
ANNA:
Go without me.
(DISTANT EXPLOSIONS)
What did you say to me?
I'm staying.
There's one thing lies
between you
and these vicious
Chechen dogs...
...the Russian Armed Forces.
The forces concerned
for my welfare,
you know, it's touching.
But I don't see any dogs
on this road,
vicious or otherwise.
What I do see is people
desperate to flee Grozny.
Now, why?
I don't know.
Suit yourself,
but you're on your own.
In the vehicle, let's go!
I am--
I could do with a drink.
Look, I have to be sure
what I've just done
isn't gonna get me killed.
As I can't be sure,
I have to assume the risk.
I'm Anna Politkovskaya,
by the way.
Anzor.
If you really want
to report the truth...
(BLOWS SMOKE)
I'll show you difficult things
for you to see.
Great.
Can we go now?
(ENGINE STARTS)
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING
IN DISTANCE)
()
ANZOR: You've entered
the black hole
of the world, Anna.
No light
or truth escapes from here.
()
(DOGS BARKING)
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING
IN DISTANCE)
(CAR DOOR CLOSES)
ANNA:
Hello.
(BACKGROUND CHATTER)
(BABY CRYING IN BACKGROUND)
(COUGHS)
(WOMAN SHOUTING IN BACKGROUND)
How do they survive?
This is...
Hi, hello.
My name is Anna.
What's your name?
Please, who are you?
What you do here?
It's okay.
This is Anna Politkovskaya.
-She wants to tell our story.
-Russian?
Yes, I'm Russian.
I'm a journalist
from the Novaya Gazeta.
I know people like you
are liars.
She's different.
What is your name?
Fatima.
Would you talk with me, Fatima?
Please?
If I talk, you tell my story
and no lies.
I promise.
Thank you.
Come.
(SPEAKS CHECHEN)
Would it be okay
if I recorded you?
FATIMA:
Yes.
Okay, thank you.
Just put that there.
FATIMA:
Vakha loved me.
Never in his life did he hurt
another human being.
I could always make him laugh.
That's what he loved about me,
my sense of humor.
Most men, they want to
be the funny one but...
Vakha didn't care.
When they found his body...
he had been shot several times.
Both ears cut off
and kept as trophies.
I'll tell you who does this.
Russians.
DMITRY: "When they find out
you're a reporter,
they cling to you,
as if you are a magician,
as if something essential
depended on you.
This war is not being fought
to rein in a rogue republic.
This war is being waged
to advance the interests
of one person...
a president intent on becoming
the type of leader
that Russia thought it had left
in the past,
a vain, brutal,
power-hungry authoritarian."
Jesus.
Well, you said you were
gonna be tough on him.
You've dropped a bomb
on his doorstep.
I was aiming for his lap.
You're set on blowing up
the whole damn operation.
Oh, well, then I'll add
something about
what a good father is
and how much his generals
give to charities.
The hospital burns ward.
Move it up
to the first paragraph.
Tone down the gore.
Other than that,
don't change a word.
We're gonna publish part
of your report each week.
Thank you.
Before Putin, you know how
Russians felt about themselves.
He made it okay for us
to love our country again.
Some of us never stopped.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER
IN BACKGROUND)
(SIGHS)
(COINS CLANKS)
ANNA: We are hurtling back
into a Soviet abyss.
An information vacuum
that spells death
from our own ignorance.
If you choose to be
a journalist in Russia,
you have to accept the risk.
ANNA:
Happy birthday.
I'm sorry, I-- I can't be--
What, something...
Uh, Ilya, sorry.
Really bad, bad signal.
Did-- did you get
the present I sent?
ILYA:
Yes.
ANNA: (ON PHONE)
It's a Sufi saying.
It's beautiful, mama,
but I um,
I don't know what it says.
"Only from the heart
can you touch the sky."
(DISTANT EXPLOSION)
What's that noise?
Are those bombs?
ANNA: (ON PHONE)
Howitzer fire.
The 120th are making a push
so Putin has something to brag
about before the election.
Well, it sounds close.
I don't know.
I'd say it's 5 kilometers away.
Yeah.
(KNOCKS)
Uh, hold on.
There we go.
(INDISTINCT BACKGROUND CHATTER)
Step out of the car.
Is there a problem?
Step out of the car.
-Let me call you back.
-No, mama, wait.
-ANNA: Sorry.
-Move. Come on.
Please, can you explain
what the problem is?
-Hey.
-So, where are you taking us?
Shut the fuck up!
Journalist.
Yes, I'm a journalist
and I'm certified to be here.
But please, please read.
Can you not touch--
-(GRUNTS)
-Oh!
ANNA:
Oh, oh, God.
-Oh.
-(GASPS)
(SIGHS, WHIMPERS)
Fucking bastards.
You should write a report.
They could've killed you.
They're nobodies.
I'm not gonna open people's
eyes by feeding them nobodies.
Well, next time, Anna, some
nobody is likely to break more
than your tape recorder.
(SIGHS)
GREGOR:
Hey.
Hey.
-Great ratings last night.
-Yeah.
Best of the series.
Yesterday's news now.
Your wife, she's making
quite a name for herself.
Pfft.
Well, she raised the kids
while I made a name
for myself, so...
Yeah, it's only fair.
A bit reckless, don't you think?
She says she's well aware
of the danger she's in, so.
But are you?
What's gonna happen to me?
She could poke my eye
out with a brush.
Have a great show.
Sorry.
Stuck at work.
She's on a mission.
Uh, it's not easy for any of us.
No, all right, well--
Well, what if you'd found out
that for the past year
instead of running off
to Chechnya all the time,
she was running into the arms
of another man?
I mean, h-- how, how
would you feel then?
-Like sharing?
-(SIGHS)
They shouldn't have
sent her to a conflict.
She's a people correspondent.
She loves people.
It's who she is.
-WAITER 1: Finished, sir?
-Thank you.
You know, today in her column,
you know what she called him?
A gangster.
That's your mum.
Beautiful, tender,
and with all the tact
of a T-90 tank.
People are starting to notice
how much she hates him.
She hates what he's doing.
She hates the war.
Almost as much
as she loves Chechens.
Hey, we're here to enjoy
ourselves, remember?
Drink.
(EXPLOSION)
()
()
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Were you never tempted
to join the rebels?
(BLOWS RASPBERRY)
You know, Anna,
one day I'd woken up
and a war had broken out.
Yes, most of my friends,
they joined the rebels,
but I didn't hate the Russians
enough to kill them, so.
You know, some people think
the only way to end the war
is by winning it.
May I say you end
the war by ending it.
Oh, oh.
We can't talk about
something else?
We have a guest in our home.
The war can wait.
-I didn't give you a drink.
-(LAUGHS) But I was--
Come, come, come.
I told him to give you a drink.
Mama, you said do the plate.
This is Amina, Zarina, Amir,
and Khava.
Come, come, come.
So tonight, as a family, we eat.
-Oh.
-And we drink.
Oh. Thank you.
You know, it smells amazing.
Oh, Anna, you're in for a treat.
My mother, she makes the best
jijig-chorpa in Chechnya.
MAARET: Hey, hey.
Who raised you, huh?
-Wolves? Leave it.
-Mama.
Ah.
Oh, Natalya.
-Delicious.
-I picked it.
I cleaned it.
I cooked it all by myself.
Mama. I did nothing.
MAARET: You did nothing.
You never do anything.
MAN 1:
I'm the one who picked it,
-so I don't know what--
-MAARET: That's a lie.
MAN 1:
All right.
NATALYA:
Don't listen to them.
They're liars.
Well, I want to make
a toast to Anna.
Oh, no, no, no, no.
For bringing hope
and light to the Chechen people,
for keeping your promise.
And I promise that I'll
continue to keep it.
-NATALYA: To Anna.
-(CHUCKLES)
-To Anna.
-Mm.
You see?
My cousin, Anzor,
is her personal driver.
They are very famous.
Isn't the target on
my back big enough?
Time for sweet things, huh?
ANNA:
Yeah.
()
Have you ever met
any of these men?
Never.
They're Chechen civilians
who disappeared on
or around January the 2nd.
Now, I've been in contact
with people from their village
who allege that members of your
militia unit detained these men
and then over a series of days,
and under
your strict supervision,
subjected them to torture.
Do you know this man?
Salambek Turamov.
Our sources allege that
you tortured Salambek,
before you dragged him
to a cell
at the October district offices
and killed him.
Do you care to comment?
You're accusing me of murder?
Salambek's parents are.
Take down this statement...
(SPITS)
"I am an officer in the army
of the Russian Federation...
not a murderer."
But write your little story.
No one will read it beyond
a few liberal faggots in Moscow.
ANNA:
It's true,
we don't have the number
of readers of other papers,
but you see,
there's only one number
that matters to me,
and that's the number of
prosecutors needed to bring
charges of first-degree murder
against an officer
of the Russian Army.
And that number is one.
I think we're done here,
aren't we?
You do know
I could slit your throat
and let you bleed out
like a pig?
Thank you for taking the time
to talk to me, Major.
Now, if you don't mind,
my driver is expecting me.
()
-Good morning.
-Morning.
Uh, what happened
to my desk?
It's well--
well, it's neat.
Oh, it's uh, probably
the new intern.
She just showed up.
She was a cub reporter
for a local newspaper.
Says she wants
to be a proper journalist.
Yeah, well, she wants to
stay away from my desk.
(CHUCKLES)
I like you pissed off.
That's how I want you to
address the Security Council.
Oh. Thank you.
I'm Anna.
I know.
What are you doing right now?
Um, I'm making coffees.
Well, you're not gonna learn
how to be a journalist
doing that. Okay?
I want you to help me draft
our statement to the UN.
Call Natalya, tell her
that you work for me.
I want a list of every complaint
against Russian troops
in Chechnya
in the last six months,
and then plan to spend the rest
of the day making calls.
Oh, and uh,
I'll have a tea, no sugar.
ANNA: I dislike Putin,
because he despises his people.
He sees us simply as a means
to his ends,
a means for the achievement
and retention of power.
He believes he can do
with us as he sees fit.
"Because we are nobody.
While he who chances
and able to clamber to the top.
is today Czar and God.
In Russia, we have had leaders
with this outlook before.
Led to tragedy, to bloodshed on
a vast scale,
and to civil wars."
"I do not want that.
So, I dislike this
typical Soviet Chekist."
Or a member of the
old secret police.
I know what Checkist means.
Only no one else
outside Russia will.
Well, if-- if I'd have known
the Associated Press
were gonna pick it up,
well, then, I would
have phrased it differently.
"I don't like this typical
Soviet Chekist
as he struts down
the red carpet
of the Kremlin throne room
as if he actually owns it.
The gold is polished
and shines.
Servants smile obediently.
Comrades,
former KGB colleagues
promoted way
beyond their limited talents
by his, assume a dignified air."
Jesus Christ.
(SIGHS)
Well, it's powerful,
Putin as emperor.
Someone had to say it,
I suppose.
Maybe someone in a position
of power
will take five minutes
out of their busy day
and look up Chechnya on a map.
()
SASHA: What?
What are you looking at?
Hmm?
Nothing.
()
Oh, thank you.
()
Excuse me, do you mind?
Nope, nope.
You're a writer.
Hmm.
It's just a guess.
You've got that haunted look of
someone with a deadline to meet.
I wish I could write.
I'd write about history.
The old czars, Ivan, Peter.
I mean, nowadays, you can say
what you want about them
and no one seems to care,
but back then...
And you had to be bloody careful
what you said about the church.
It was all in the Stoglav.
Do you know what that was?
It was a record of the czar's
questions to the clergy
and their responses.
It established the code
of canon law.
And what writers
were allowed to express.
These are amazing.
I can see why you come here
every morning.
What are you?
You need to stop.
Stop what?
Criticizing the czar?
Understand, it makes
no difference to me.
Me, personally,
I enjoy your column.
I look forward to it.
Your passion,
your concern for humanity,
your fondness
for the Chechen people,...
all of that is commendable.
But it doesn't change
your situation.
And what is
my situation exactly?
Been nice to meet you.
Morning.
-Good morning.
-Hi.
(MACHINE BEEPING)
Oh, come on.
(CARD BEEPING)
Oh, Gregor. Hi.
Yeah.
-I'll be a minute.
-Sasha.
-What have they done?
-Sasha?
Yeah.
I need to have a little chat
with you.
Well, now? I'm late.
Come with me, my friend,
because this is completely out
of my hands.
(INDISTINCT SPEECH)
()
()
(WOMAN CHATTERS)
()
-Hey.
-Hey.
-What's wrong?
-Nothing.
-Who is that?
-He--
It's no one.
-Leave it, Ilya--
-But why is he staring at you?
I-- I don't know.
Just come on. Ilya.
Ilya, leave it, please.
Hey!
Oi!
(DOOR CLOSES)
ANNA:
Oh, Ilya, he's gone.
Ayi, yai, yai.
Oh.
This place is a mess.
I've been back a week.
I-- I can't get into it.
No, it's his mess.
He should clean it.
Your father, well, he's--
he's having a hard time.
He hates not working.
Look, stop making
excuses for him.
Look, look, look, Ilya.
Hey.
It's okay.
No, it's not okay, all right?
It's-- it's-- it's not.
None of this is okay.
Not papa, not strangers
stalking you in the street.
Oh, oh--
Probably the unhinged subject
of some article
you've written who now
has it in for you
or the fact that,
for the past two years,
I've woken up every morning
and wondered if today
is gonna be the day
that I get a call from someone
telling me
my mother's been found
in a ditch, right?
It-- it-- it is all so not okay.
Ilya...
SASHA:
Oh.
Thought it was you.
Hi.
Hello. Welcome home.
Are you uh, you gonna stay
for dinner?
No.
Oh, Ilya.
Ilya!
Why is he upset?
What did you say?
What'd you say to him?
You know, as much as I love
working all day then,
oh, doing the shopping
and then, ooh, making dinner,
it would be nice
if maybe you did it
for a change.
SASHA: Yeah, I'm busy!
I'm doing something.
-ANNA: Doing what?
-I'm logging the death threats.
Why?
Oh.
-Sasha.
-Talking of which,
your favorite war criminal
called today.
I saved it for you.
Here you go.
LAPIN: (ON RECORDING)
Hear that?
You're dead.
I'm gonna cut your tits off
and feed them to the beast dogs.
Yeah?
Last time,
it was your uterus.
Something tells me
mad Major Lapin's
got serious mommy issues.
No one's asking you to do this.
We need a record.
And anyway...
what else am I gonna do?
Have you written
any more query letters?
I've written plenty
of letters, all right?
No one's writing back.
ANNA: You will.
It's just a matter of time--
-It's--
-And it will happen.
It's just like the old days.
Can't you feel it?
It's like someone's pried open
Stalin's crypt
and the stench is in the air.
What about Vasily?
-Have you called him--
-Please don't.
Just...
They're all shit scared of him.
Big joke. They're not
even trying to get to me.
-Sorry. I'm so-- I--
-No, no. No.
I've got to make dinner.
Sorry.
SOPHIA:
Excuse me, can I help you?
I need to speak to Anna,
Anna Politkovskaya.
SOPHIA:
One minute.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Excuse me? Hey.
You can't go here.
Stop him.
What's going on?
Whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
You need to have
an appointment here.
You can't just barge in here.
-You're s--
-Hold on, hold on.
It's okay.
You know this guy?
I've seen him around.
Can I help you?
Army?
Lance corporal.
Semenov, Ivan.
5th Army,
Motorized Rifle Brigade.
You fought in Gudermes?
You guys took heavy casualties.
They took more.
Look,
I know you want to
tell me something,
because you've
been following me.
They lied.
They said it was for rubbish.
Right. Ivan, come with me.
-It's okay. Please.
-Anna--
Let him go.
Dmitry, I'm okay, honestly.
Please, this way.
Follow me.
-You sure?
-Positive.
Take a seat.
We dug the trench,
me and some guys from my squad.
It was the staff sergeant
who said they planned
to bury rubbish in it.
I had no reason
not to believe him.
The next day, a bunch of special
forces showed up at the camp.
They were ethnic Chechens
who'd fought
against the Russians at first,
then switched sides.
I couldn't figure out
why they were there.
Then a large group
of non-combatants
was herded out of the camp
and marched towards
the edge of the trench,
the one we'd dug
to bury the rubbish.
The special forces were waiting
with their rifles.
The camp was dismantled
a week later
and went away without a trace...
an entire camp.
Do you um,
do you think you
could draw a map?
You promise not
to publish my name?
If you promise you're not lying.
DMITRY:
Anna.
You know, the whole time it has
been right under my nose.
What?
The camp that Corporal Semenov
was assigned to, you know?
He reckons there's over
two hundred bodies buried there
and according to him,
the same thing is happening
all over the region.
You know, if this checks out,
you know what this is?
Yeah.
-You're not going down there.
-Why not?
Because you're due to address
the Security Council
in five days.
Well, that can wait.
Oh, for God's sake, Anna!
You have been invited
to bear witness
by the British delegation
to the United Nations, right?
It is not some nail salon
you can call up
and change an appointment
anytime you want.
Look, Semenov came to me,
because I'm the only one
he can trust.
No. He trusts this newspaper!
(THUDS)
DMITRY: And that is
who you work for,
not the other way around.
Oh.
Okay. I-- I get it.
I get it, okay?
Chechnya's your baby.
Well, this newspaper is mine.
And it certainly isn't
because of the money.
I could earn twice as
much anywhere else, right?
But then I'd be in
the bullshit business.
And that is why I was so happy
when the invitation came
from the UN.
I saw Kofi Annan's signature
and I thought, "Okay.
Maybe we are doing
something right." Okay?
And by we, I don't mean you
and me.
I mean every single person
who has ever walked through
that door and given a damn.
Okay?
Hey, hey, hey!
-Hey, hey, hey.
-Someone-- there's someone here.
(CAMERA CLICKS)
ANNA: I came here
with a speech
about an illegal occupation
and its devastating effects
on civilians in Chechnya.
But in the last 48 hours,
I have received evidence
that confirms systematic
mass killings
on a scale
I could never imagine.
The site contains over
a 150 murdered civilians,
many of whom were found
with their hands tied
behind their backs
with barbed wire
and many showing
signs of torture.
We expect many more
mass graves to be found.
Now, the Kremlin is doing
everything possible
to keep this a secret.
It wants the world to believe
that Russia is waging a war
against terrorists,
when in fact
its real purpose is
a dedicated campaign of genocide
against the people of Chechnya.
EGOROV:
Yes, sir. I saw it.
Understood, sir.
Yes, thank you.
ANNA: People can pay
with their lives
for saying out loud
what they believe.
(BANGING)
ANNA: Just talking to me
can put someone in danger.
GRU AGENT:
Where is he?
MAARET:
He's not here.
No. No, no, no.
He's not here.
He's in Regita.
Come back.
He's not here!
Where are you going?
(DOGS BARKING)
(GRUNTS)
MAARET:
Oh my God. Leave him. Leave him.
Don't go after him.
Leave him alone!
Please!
()
(PANTING)
(GUNFIRE)
On your knees.
(PANTING)
()
SASHA:
Mm.
Hey, The Godfather' s on
in a bit.
Ah. Well, shame we'll miss it.
Well, we could always
get room service,
stay in like the old days.
Well, um,
and when they ask me
why I didn't turn up
to receive my award,
I'll say, "Oh.
Well, there was an old movie
on the TV
-and I wanted to watch."
-It's not an old movie.
It's The Godfather.
You love The Godfather.
You love The Godfather.
I've just been pretending to.
Now, get ready.
(PHONE RINGING)
Hi.
MAARET: (ON PHONE)
Anzor has been arrested.
What?
MAARET: (ON PHONE)
They have taken my son.
Well, where have they taken him?
()
What?
What?
Everything all right?
Let's go.
[GRUNTS]
[GRUNTS, WHIMPERS]
-[CHEERING]
-SASHA: Yeah.
Thank you.
No, it's not like the old days,
is it?
When we started out,
if you won an award,
you had to get yourself killed
or at least, lose a couple
of legs or something, right?
They'd put a picture up
on the newsroom
of a coffee machine that said,
"Never to be forgotten."
Next person in they'd be,
"Who's that?"
-Right?
-[SHUSHES]
And now for the final award
of the evening.
The Global Award
for Human Rights Journalism
was established to recognize
the immense importance
of journalists around the world.
This year, the award
goes to Anna Politkovskaya.
Yeah!
Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.
[PEOPLE WHISTLING]
ANNA:
War has two sides.
I say it has three.
The innocent civilians
caught in the middle
of what I can only describe
as a medieval, brutal war.
And I would like
to dedicate this award
to those extraordinary,
brave people.
[CHEERING, APPLAUSE]
Sorry, if I embarrassed
you, all right?
I'd had a few glasses of wine.
Oh, good, Sasha.
Blame the wine.
Jesus, everybody
loved you, all right?
Everybody loved your speech.
How long are you gonna stay
angry for?
Look, it's stained on it--
No, this is not about the dress!
-With the water.
-This...
this is about you
and how you wallow
in your self-pity.
Oh, uh, uh, uh,
when I try and help you,
you resent me like you
resent everything I do.
I have no idea
what you're--
-what are you talking about?
-Look, you-- you were a star.
You got the treatment everywhere
you went, including at home.
And then
the unthinkable happened.
Your wife stopped
playing second fiddle.
Yeah, the-- this,
it's so far from the mark.
-It is so wrong.
-I'm right!
Yeah. Uh, you're right
about anything.
I mean, you're always fucking
right about everything,
aren't you?
I mean, you're right
about not liking sitting
at home doing nothing.
You're right.
I don't like sitting about
with nothing to do for years.
And whose fault is that?
Uh, it's not mine, is it?
-Obviously--
-I mean, is it?
-It's not.
-So...
So, you're blaming me like
you blame me for everything.
Who the fuck else is to blame?
-No.
-No, I'm-- I'm-- I'm sorry.
Look, Sasha, Sasha, I--
I don't care anymore.
(ELEVATOR DINGS)
[SOBBING]
()
(RAIN PATTERING)
BELLHOP:
May I take your bag, sir?
Yes, please.
I um, I spoke to Vasily.
He's gonna let me crash there
just for a little while.
That's good for Vasily.
How long you sticking around?
I think a few more days.
There's people here.
I, uh...
Listen...
you're a better writer
than me.
I know that's not easy
for you to say.
(CAR DOOR CLOSES)
Hello?
MAARET: (ON PHONE)
They uh, beat him...
and then left him to die
like a piece of rubbish.
Oh, Maaret.
MAARET: (ON PHONE)
They've taken everything.
A brother, my husband,
my children.
That's all war does, takes.
And it's never enough.
Two centuries of taking,
it still wants more.
I'm so sorry.
[SOBS]
()
[AUDIENCE LAUGH]
[AUDIENCE CLAPS]
You know,
if you two do get tired
of watching this extremely
long costume drama
in which literally nothing
actually happens,
I think there's
a football game on.
No?
Okay.
ANNA: No one is reporting
on the terrible impact
of the war.
The tactics employed
by the Kremlin
to suppress so-called terrorism
is itself creating a wave
of violence
the like of which
has never been experienced.
[AUDIENCE LAUGH]
AGENT 1:
Get the fuck off the stage!
Move it fucking now!
(SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
[AUDIENCE SHOUTS]
(GUNFIRE)
You're all going to die
unless you do exactly as we say.
Call your loved ones.
Tell them
you have been taken hostage
by the Reconnaissance
and Sabotage Battalion
of Vedeno.
Right, does anyone
want anything?
-I'm good, thank you.
-Ilya?
(MOBILE VIBRATES)
Nikolai Agapov reporting live
from the Dubrovka Theater
in Moscow,
which has been taken over
by Chechen terrorists.
-Oh my God.
-NIKOLAI: ...to detonate bombs.
Just after 9:00 p.m.
this evening,
-dozens of heavily--
-Turn it down.
...Chechens stormed
the theater--
So, who is this?
EGOROV: (ON PHONE)
Egorov, the Russian Federation.
What do you want?
I'm calling to tell you
what the terrorists want.
And that is?
EGOROV: (ON PHONE)
You.
Me?
EGOROV: (ON PHONE)
Yeah, to mediate negotiations.
According to their leader,
you're the only Russian
that the entire Chechen
population trusts.
I need you to come to the
Dubrovka Theater immediately.
When you get there,
you will ask for me,
and one of my men
will escort you
to the command center.
Okay.
Mama?
They um, they want me
to help with negotiations.
Over the phone, right?
No.
(SIGHS)
-Oh my God.
-NIKOLAI: A woman in her 40s
murdered while attending
a theater show.
So, these are the people you're
supposed to talk sense to?
A-- a-- and you're supposed
to go in there and do what?
Make them see the fucking light?
Ilya, if there's anything
I can do to help, then I will.
Of course.
That's all I've ever
heard my entire life.
The innocent,
and the powerless
-and how much they need you.
-Ilya, Ilya.
-Yeah, it never ends, ma.
-Ilya, Ilya, listen to me.
No, because this is the world!
And the world will never run out
of victims no matter what you
or anyone else does
to change it.
So tell me, mama,
where do we fit in?
-So, no, no--
-This is not about you!
So, tell me!
I mean, granted, we're only
your flesh and blood, right?
Yeah, we're not full fucking
members of the Wretched
-and Exploited--
-Oh.
(GASPS)
-Ilya, I--
-No, no.
Ilya.
You're not going.
You're not.
You're staying right here.
-It's her choice.
-No, no.
I'm not watching you die!
Listen to yourself.
Mama, please be careful.
(DOOR CLOSES)
I've sent Marta
and the metro team.
I'd love to assign you,
but it looks like you're busy.
Now do me a favor,
try not to piss anyone off.
I know it's hard for you.
Oh, I'll try.
You'll never get a cab.
That was a friend in DC,
it's all over the news there.
My contact in London
says the same.
Well done, lads.
You hit them big time.
(SIRENS BLARING)
Why are you doing this?
You're not a parent.
Maybe someday
you'll have children
and-- and when you do,
your children
will look at the world
that you have handed them
and-- and they will judge you,
not whether you,
you succeeded in making
the world a better place
or didn't make the world
a better place,
but it...
They will judge you
on how hard you tried.
This is as far as I go.
Said I'd take you to them,
but I'm not handing you over.
Go, mama.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
MAN 2:
No one interrupt.
Sir?
EGOROV:
Thank you for coming, Anna.
So, you're not going in there
to report or observe.
No public statements,
no interviews.
You keep your mouth shut
and you keep your opinions
to yourself
until the situation is resolved.
And then I'm free to say
whatever I like, hmm?
Lieutenant Colonel Egorov.
Well, that's entirely up to you.
The leader's name
is Musa Barayev,
a well-established
Chechen separatist.
We estimate 30-plus terrorists
and 800 hostages.
The children are still inside,
getting them out
should be your main priority.
We've also been able to tap
into the theater's CCTV cameras,
mainly focused on the entrances
and exits,
so we should have visual
on you most of the time.
But if anything does go wrong,
there's not a lot we can do.
Oh, we have a flak jacket.
ANNA:
There's no need.
They've killed two
hostages already.
They're savages.
You trust savages?
Well, if they are savages,
then a flak jacket
isn't gonna be much help
to me, is it?
Shall we?
Ma'am.
()
She's going in.
She's completely alone.
She'll be fine.
How much time do your men need?
Two to three hours.
SOLDIER 1:
Copy, she's in.
Give the order.
Sir.
Hello?
Hello?
ABU BAKR:
Hello.
I am Abu Bakr.
I'm Anna.
It is an honor to meet you,
Anna Politkovskaya.
Back home they write songs
about you.
One claims you are the
bravest woman in Russia.
I'm here to see Barayev.
Of course.
Come with me.
BARAYEV: What the fuck? What--
what the fuck is this shit?
Are you guys stupid?
Take this...
Fucking imbeciles.
Tell your readers
we are not jihadists, okay,
in spite of what some would
have you believe.
It's a pleasure to meet you.
They're children under 13.
You made a deal.
You need to let them go.
Okay.
Okay.
All children under 13 years old,
line up on the stairs
with me now.
[PEOPLE CRYING]
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
-Is this your wife?
-Yeah, she's diabetic.
(SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
-There we go.
-Thank you.
FATIMA:
Children.
Come.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
AGENT 4:
[SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
(DOOR SLAMS)
We've gone past the point
of no return.
Either the war stops now
or we blow up the hostages.
Well--
And that's your message?
Look, I understand.
I know the situation
in Chechnya is intolerable.
Let me help you make a deal.
There must be an immediate halt
to all security sweeps.
If he agrees,
the older children can go.
And what's to stop him resuming
sweeps in two days, huh?
[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]
If you let the children go,
it's a gesture, Abu Bakr,
and I'm telling you,
it's an important one.
AGENT 4:
(SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
She wants to talk to you.
Thank you.
He says you need to call off
the security sweeps.
First he releases those 13
and over,
then I'll order a halt
in all districts except Vedeno.
First, he says you have to let
the older children go.
()
FATIMA:
Anna.
Fatima.
Ah, we've come a long way.
On very different paths.
You choose words,
I choose action.
These men...
...they're using you.
You're wrong.
These are good men.
They fight for a great cause.
Your husband, if he was alive,
well, he would--
would he stand with them?
Men who prey on the vulnerable,
who--
who give them no choice,
but what,
to murder innocent people
in the name of what?
Peace?
Cover your face, Fatima.
Leave with me now.
Beg the court for mercy.
It's the only way you're
gonna get out of here alive.
All right.
The rest of the children can go.
And the women?
Maybe.
You need to go.
And you need to keep on talking.
Otherwise,
how is this going to end?
When Chechnya is free.
That's when this will end.
Goodbye, Anna.
(GAS HISSING)
(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)
(GUNFIRE)
What the--
No. What-- not that--
No. Get, get--
The fuck is going on?
NESTOR: Alpha team
storming the building.
Christ, the war has come home.
[PEOPLE COUGHING]
What was that?
[COUGHING]
ANNA:
No, what?
-No, get, get--
-It's all right.
-It's all right.
-Get off!
Let her go.
(SIGHS)
Wh--
What the hell have you done?
You used me.
You used me to stall for time.
We each have a job to do, Anna.
We saved
a lot of innocent lives
and a few Chechens
are put to sleep.
Job well done.
I understand it was
the president
who came up with the idea,
but don't quote me.
Look, you're maniacs.
You're-- you're all
fucking maniacs.
(GUNFIRE)
[YELLS]
()
(GUNSHOT)
NEWS MAKERS HOST:
So, you're accusing
the president of murder?
ANNA:
Last month he ordered the use
of chemical weapons
on civilians,
a 170 people died.
So, w-- w-- what, what
would you call it?
It was an opioid-laced gas,
correct?
Fentanyl.
A tranquilizer used
to make people fall asleep.
Not to kill them.
You see these people?
Now, they're civilians,
not terrorists,
and they are not sleeping.
Fentanyl causes
respiratory depression.
Now, the victims should have
been turned on their sides in--
in order to keep
their airways open.
Instead, they were left
on their backs,
ensuring they asphyxiated.
Now, as you can see,
the ER personnel
are completely caught
by surprise
at the number of victims
needing their care.
Now, if they had been informed
ahead of time--
-Wh-- why weren't they?
-Secrecy.
See, our team uncovered
that the operation
was classified
under need-to-know restrictions.
And that, well, then that
included people
who could have saved lives.
And the fact that 30 terrorists
took hundreds hostage?
The only terrorist
that the Russian people
need to fear...
is their own president.
(STATIC)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
You have to see this.
REPORTER 2: (ON TV)
Reports just coming in
from the town of Beslan
in North Ossetia.
The Chechen separatists
have entered the school
and taken many hostages.
It's a terrible reminder
of the Dubrovka Theater scene
with hundreds of staff
and people still trapped inside.
Oh, no.
Anna, this is not your war.
Uh, uh, listen, D-- Dmitry,
uh, someone needs to negotiate.
I have to try.
DMITRY: (ON PHONE)
Last time I checked,
you were supposed
to be a journalist.
But-- but I-- I am
and you know that
and why I need to be there
on the ground.
DMITRY: (ON PHONE)
Just be careful.
My contact on the ground
will meet you
and take you to the school.
The government is saying
200 to 400 hostages,
but my contact in Ossetia
is saying it's more like 1100,
700 children.
Good luck.
ANNA:
Thank you.
ELENA:
Be careful!
Welcome aboard.
Thank you.
-Tea or coffee, madam?
-No, thank you.
-Tea or coffee, madam?
-Tea, please.
FLIGHT ATTENDANT:
Your tea ma'am.
Oh, thank you.
Miss?
Miss?
[TAKING BREATHS]
Miss?
[GASPING]
(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)
(WHIMPERS)
VERA:
Mama.
Mama, you're awake.
Here water, water.
-[COUGHS]
-Ilya?
Yeah, she's awake.
Okay.
Okay.
Ilya's on his way.
Okay, I'm gonna go
and get a nurse. Okay?
Wha-- what happened?
The hostages?
Mum.
What happened?
()
The rebels set off a bomb
inside the gymnasium.
That is if you
believe the Kremlin.
There were casualties, mama.
How many?
The number keeps changing,
but...
at the moment
they're saying over 300 dead.
Huh?
Including all the separatists.
Huh?
How many children?
-VERA: Mama, you need to rest.
-Vera, how many children?
The majority.
[SOBBING]
You were right.
You said she would
fight to live.
God is great.
Garry Kasparov
was on TV yesterday.
He called you,
"the conscience of the nation".
Yeah, well, Garry Kasparov
should stick to playing chess.
(CHUCKLES)
DMITRY:
Good morning.
Have you seen this?
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
CROWD:
Anna!
Anna!
Anna!
Anna!
Anna!
I'm no saint.
Far from it.
Ask the mothers of Beslan.
Well, don't tell them.
(CHUCKLES)
Mother Russia.
(CHUCKLES)
-Far from it.
-CROWD: Anna!
Anna!
Anna!
Anna!
-Anna!
-Thank you.
Anna! Anna! Anna!
Okay, stay back please.
Stay back.
-Anna!
-Anna!
-Anna!
-Anna!
-Anna!
-Anna!
-Anna!
-Anna!
ILYA:
Excuse me, thank you.
-Anna!
-Anna!
-Anna!
-Anna!
Careful, careful.
Anna! Anna! Anna!
You all right?
ANNA:
Yeah.
-Let's go home.
-ANNA: Okay.
ANNA: A reporter should
never be the story.
I am not a politician.
I am just another face
in the crowd in Moscow,
St. Petersburg, and Chechnya,
doing my job.
And I do not intend to stop.
-Hi, how are you?
-ANNA: Good.
What are you doing tomorrow?
ANNA: (ON PHONE)
Tomorrow?
Planning on coming in to work.
Why?
Well, I was thinking
of taking the day off.
You wanna join me?
Okay.
All right.
Uh, 12:00,
the bandstand, Drewsbury Park.
Right. See you then.
DMITRY: (ON PHONE)
See you there.
Bye.
()
[GRUNTS]
My feet got fat.
When was the last time
you wore them?
Oh, 30 years ago.
Used to go to Gorky Park
on Saturday afternoons
to dance the cha-cha.
(CHUCKLES)
What?
-The cha-cha?
-Yeah, the cha-cha.
(LAUGHS)
I was quite a hoofer.
Ask my wife.
(LAUGHS)
You know, I met
Sasha at a tea dance.
-You're kidding.
-Mm.
And he kept stepping on my feet.
Luckily for him,
he was so good-looking.
-You see, I like this.
-Hmm?
We're hanging out.
We never hang out.
It's always work, work, work.
Voulez-vous danser?
All the other papers
have a travel writer.
How come we don't?
ANNA:
Because we can't afford one.
DMITRY:
Not according to our accountant.
According to him, we've had
our best quarter ever,
thanks to you.
Mm.
So, do you know anyone
who can write a bit
and doesn't mind sleeping
in strange beds?
What's wrong, Dima?
Do you want me to stop
stepping on people's toes?
They never come for me.
All the years
I've been doing this,
I've had plenty of threats,
but not once.
They just...
killed my reporters,
my friends.
Anna, please.
I'm not asking you to stop,
just step out
of the firing line
and you keep the column.
You just shift the focus
from murder and corruption
to bed and breakfasts.
(CHUCKLES)
I'll think about it.
Right.
(CHUCKLES)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Natalya sent it.
It's a video of two men
killing Chechen civilians,
possibly on the order
of Chechen regional leaders
or, or quite possibly
Putin himself.
You'll need to authenticate it.
I don't understand.
Knock yourself out.
But it's your lead.
And you're ready.
-[SPITS]
-(TELEPHONE RINGING)
Hello?
EGOROV: (ON PHONE)
Egorov.
Oh, h-- hi.
EGOROV: (ON PHONE)
I understand you wanna meet.
Y-- yes.
But in public.
I want lots of people around.
EGOROV: (ON PHONE)
As you wish.
Tomorrow, 11:00,
the art museum.
Um, o-- okay.
I'll-- I'll-- I'll--
I'll see you then.
EGOROV: (ON PHONE)
Sleep well.
Goodnight.
()
Sorry, I'm late.
There was a queue.
Black tea, no sugar.
You just wasted a perfectly
good untainted drink.
And you almost wasted
a perfectly good reporter.
Look, I know this may sound
disingenuous,
but I am glad you're alive.
So, that means I don't have
to worry
about you putting another
wet team onto me?
Not my call.
Well, whose call is it?
I can't answer that.
Can't or won't?
The reason I ask is
because I've been reassigned
to the travel desk.
That's why I'm asking you
to speak to someone for me.
I can pass along
the information.
Pass along wh--
Look, I'm middle management.
These decisions they, um...
My mandate is circumscribed.
Ah.
In other words, I'm screwed.
-I don't make the rules.
-No, you just follow them.
So, can I ask you something?
You know,
out of all the paths
you could have chosen in life,
why did you choose this one?
I could ask you
the same question.
Well, I chose the path
that I believe in.
I didn't.
You know all this,
this was a slum,
until Ivan the Great kicked out
the residents
and built a palace.
Not because he was cruel,
but because he had a vision.
He saw a shining city rising
from that hell hole,
and beyond that,
a mighty empire
straddling two continents.
And here we are,
500 years later,
a journalist pleading
for a life in a--
in a country run
by a glorified thug,
celebrating the opening
of its first Starbucks.
I don't expect you
to understand.
Do you have children?
Why do you wanna know?
No, I don't have any children.
But you're married?
I'm single.
And in case you're wondering,
both my parents are dead.
What's your point?
So, you have no one?
EGOROV: What you mean,
no one who gives a shit
if I live or die?
I'm...
You what?
Sorry.
I'm on good terms
with the director,
and he's on good terms
with someone
who's in a position to help
you, so I'll make a request.
Thank you.
Goodbye, Anna.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
[VERA CHUCKLES]
-Find anything?
-Mm.
(CHUCKLES)
VERA:
You?
Oh. (CHUCKLES)
Oh.
(CHUCKLES)
Don't yell.
-Vera!
-Yeah?
Oh.
She's having a baby.
(CHUCKLES)
Oh.
Sasha, of course, I'd be happy
if it was a boy.
Wouldn't you like
a granddaughter?
SASHA:
Oh, well, girls--
Yeah, well, they're sweeter,
especially when they're younger.
SASHA:
I'll bet.
I know I was.
SASHA:
You still are.
-God, we're old.
-Yeah.
SASHA:
We're gonna be grandparents.
I know.
SASHA:
We should talk about it.
-I mean--
-Okay.
SASHA: Like, get it right.
You know what I mean?
Right. Oh.
SASHA: You want me
to get me off the phone?
I got a lot of shopping,
Sasha, that's why.
SASHA:
You mean fur coats?
No.
Well, Ilya's coming for dinner
this evening
-with his new girlfriend.
-SASHA: No.
-I know.
-SASHA: Oh God.
- Are you cooking up a feast?
-Yeah, Vera's coming, too.
SASHA:
Great.
Why don't you come?
-SASHA: What time?
-8:00.
-SASHA: All right, great.
-Yeah.
-SASHA: Yeah, I'd love it.
-Okay.
SASHA:
I'll bring some wine, yeah?
-Yeah. Well--
-SASHA: Okay, love.
Okay. I'll see you then.
Bye, bye.
SASHA:
Bye.
Oh.
(GUNSHOTS)
[GASPING]
ASSASSIN:
Let go.
-Let go.
-No!
(GUNSHOT)
ANNA: Is journalism worth
the loss of life every time?
Is the price of truth
how much a society cares?
No.
There is nothing of value
apart from the truth.
()
I'm on a roll
I'm on a roll this time
I feel my luck could change
Pull me out
of the air crash
Pull me out of the lake
'Cause I'm your super hero
We're standing on the edge
The head of state
has called for me by name
But I don't have time
for him
It's gonna be a glorious day
I feel my luck could change
Pull me out
of the air crash
Pull me out of the lake
'Cause I'm your super hero
We're standing on the edge
()
()
()
()