The Wizard of the Kremlin review: Jude Law plays Vladimir Putin in fascinating portrait

It comes directed by Assayas, the French filmmaker who previously brought us Carlos, his epic take on Carlos the Jackal, and you could say he deploys the same crisp grasp of political events that shaped the world here, as he did in that 2010 effort.

The script, adapted by Assayas and Emmanuel Carrère, is based on the 2022 novel by Giuliano da Empoli, which wove fiction and reality together.

Dano’s Baranov, going from avant-garde theatre to TV producer to political kingmaker, is fictional, although comes inspired by the real-life Vladislav Surkov. The film begins with a disclaimer, that events have been fictionalised with “artistic intent”, but clearly skates closely to reality. Here, Baranov is the man in the shadows, pulling the strings on behalf of “the Tsar”, as Putin is dubbed.

Narrating the piece is a journalist (Jeffrey Wright) who gets called to meet Baranov, now seemingly devoid of all influence, but living in a well-appointed home and enjoying the pleasures of taking his young daughter to school every day. He recounts his early life, hawking cassette players and TV sets in the 1990s, as Russia was filled with a sense of optimism after the fall of the Soviet Union.

During this radical time, Baranov meets artists and free spirits, including the mysterious Ksenia (Alicia Vikander), with whom he starts up a relationship before his one-time school friend-turned-wealthy tycoon Dmitri Sidorov (Tom Sturridge) becomes entranced with her. But from here, Baranov finds influence in television and then, through his friendship with businessman Berezovsky, in politics.

Soon, they are supporting “civil servant” Putin in the final days of Boris Yeltsin’s rule. “I’m not interested in winning the Nobel Peace Prize,” says Law’s soon-to-be all-powerful leader, explaining he wants to restore the integrity of the Russian Federation. But to do so, he needs help from men like Baranov, who paves the way for the Russian electorate to accept Putin’s authoritarian regime – whether skilfully manipulating people via the internet or using radical biker groups like the Night Wolves to stir up trouble in Ukraine.

Assayas’s film covers a lot of ground, but does so with an infectious punk-rock energy that spirits you along. The portrait of Putin fascinates (we even see this man of action waterskiing at Sochi, the summer residence for Russian leaders), even if Law doesn’t quite feel the right actor to take on the role. Still, there’s a ruthlessness in his eyes that resonates, especially when he ignores the plight of the Russian sailors trapped in the sunken Kursk nuclear submarine.

While the finale veers more towards fiction, it’s an ending that feels apt in this bleak time with the ongoing war in Ukraine. Assayas and his team have created an indelible portrait of contemporary Russia, “a prison the size of a country” as it's called, one that perhaps only an outsider could ever get away with.

The Wizard of the Kremlin is yet to confirm a UK release date.

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