![Picture](/uploads/4/7/7/6/47764739/7211992_orig.jpg)
Overview: The couple of Russian spies, Nadezhda and Misha, comes to the electric facility to plug in a bug into a delivery device. While they are there, someone unexpectedly comes in in the middle of the night. It turns out that the old lady whose son runs the facility likes to come there at night to do some bookkeeping. Apparently, this would be her last visit.
Review: When Nadezhda comes up from the basement to see who was there she sees an old lady. She ordered her to stay quiet and threatened her in a very calm but confident voice. The old lady listens and sits down at the table. Nadezhda and the lady, both females, play very different roles in this scene: they are black and white, yin and yang, the murderer and the victim.
When the viewer takes a look at the room, on the right side they see the old woman sitting at the table with the lamp that is the only source of light in this dark place. The table is a mess with piles and piles of documents on it. She is a big woman dressed in a cozy oversized sweater. Her posture, her voice and things that surround her are mild and warm. Her character signifies life, a bubbly chaotic life. In contrast, Nadezhda is very slim. She stands in the dark corner where the light from the table lamp cannot reach her. Her body is erect and her face is emotionless. She is dressed in all black. Her character resembles Death from anecdotes. She is a female who is dressed in all black and who carries a scythe, but here Nadezhda has a modernized scythe - the gun.
The creepiness of this murder is in the lack of force or blood or any graphic violent imagery. Nadezhda notices that the lady takes pills for her heart and she makes them the murder tool. Nadezhda takes the bottle with the pills, slowly and deliberately empties it on the table. The viewer attention is on the numerous yellow tablets. Nadezhda doesn't say a word. By her cold and detached face that occupies the screen, the old lady realizes that she must take these pills and kill herself. Her eyes start watering, her face shows surprise and disbelief that her death is coming tonight. However, she obeys and starts taking pills one by one. Meanwhile, she opens up to Nadezhda, telling herher life story using names of her husband, her son and showing pictures of her family. In the end, she dies from a heart attack, yet we never find out her own name.
Usually we see a female as a victim, yet here both the victim and the perpetrator are females. Moreover, we are used to seeing older, more experienced people to take advantage of a younger person who might be more naive to see the danger coming to run away. However, in this scene the old lady falls into the trap and is forced to kill herself. The reversal of roles and showing the violent scene employing atypical agents make this scene powerful and heartbreaking to watch.
Review: When Nadezhda comes up from the basement to see who was there she sees an old lady. She ordered her to stay quiet and threatened her in a very calm but confident voice. The old lady listens and sits down at the table. Nadezhda and the lady, both females, play very different roles in this scene: they are black and white, yin and yang, the murderer and the victim.
When the viewer takes a look at the room, on the right side they see the old woman sitting at the table with the lamp that is the only source of light in this dark place. The table is a mess with piles and piles of documents on it. She is a big woman dressed in a cozy oversized sweater. Her posture, her voice and things that surround her are mild and warm. Her character signifies life, a bubbly chaotic life. In contrast, Nadezhda is very slim. She stands in the dark corner where the light from the table lamp cannot reach her. Her body is erect and her face is emotionless. She is dressed in all black. Her character resembles Death from anecdotes. She is a female who is dressed in all black and who carries a scythe, but here Nadezhda has a modernized scythe - the gun.
The creepiness of this murder is in the lack of force or blood or any graphic violent imagery. Nadezhda notices that the lady takes pills for her heart and she makes them the murder tool. Nadezhda takes the bottle with the pills, slowly and deliberately empties it on the table. The viewer attention is on the numerous yellow tablets. Nadezhda doesn't say a word. By her cold and detached face that occupies the screen, the old lady realizes that she must take these pills and kill herself. Her eyes start watering, her face shows surprise and disbelief that her death is coming tonight. However, she obeys and starts taking pills one by one. Meanwhile, she opens up to Nadezhda, telling herher life story using names of her husband, her son and showing pictures of her family. In the end, she dies from a heart attack, yet we never find out her own name.
Usually we see a female as a victim, yet here both the victim and the perpetrator are females. Moreover, we are used to seeing older, more experienced people to take advantage of a younger person who might be more naive to see the danger coming to run away. However, in this scene the old lady falls into the trap and is forced to kill herself. The reversal of roles and showing the violent scene employing atypical agents make this scene powerful and heartbreaking to watch.