New Movie: Vlast (Power)

Blog: J.B. spins

http://jbspins.blogspot.com/2010/02/documentary-fortnight-10-vlast-power.html
by Joe Bendel

Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Documentary Fortnight ‘10: Vlast (Power)

Over 200 former employees and directors of Yukos, the Russian oil company, have
been in some way persecuted by the Putin regime. Unquestionably, the biggest
fish among them is Yukos’s former CEO, the visionary Russian entrepreneur
Mikhail Khodorkovsky. At one time the sixteenth richest man in the world,
Khodorkovsky now resides in a tiny prison cell. How he got there is a chilling
story of the not-so-new Russia, compellingly recounted in Cathryn Collins’s
Vlast (Power), which screens during MoMA’s Documentary Fortnight 2010 (trailer
here).

Collins never confuses Khodorkovsky with a choirboy. She makes it very clear
Khodorkovsky’s early years are still shrouded in mystery and unsettling rumors.
However, she gives him credit for taking on the decrepit Yukos state enterprise
at time when the price of oil was at an all time low, eventually turning around
the company, making billions in the process.

Khodorkovsky was one of the original so-called oligarchs who largely reaped the
benefits of Yeltsin’s privatization plan. Yet, he was a crony capitalist of a
different color, becoming a prominent philanthropist and advocate of democracy
in Russia. He also started championing corporate transparency, only to find
himself behind bars shortly thereafter.

First-time documentarian Collins is admirably even-handed in her profile of
Khodorkovsky, never overstating her case or simply appealing to emotion. While
giving the incarcerated mogul credit for his business acumen, she is most
impressed by his ability to identify and recruit smart, talented young people
for his team. Of course, the implications of his story are clear. If a man with
an estimated net worth over fifteen billion dollars is not safe in Putin’s
Russia, nobody is.

Many of Vlast’s on-camera interview subjects participated at not inconsiderable
risk to their well being. In doing so, they definitely convey an unvarnished
sense of life in Russia today. Providing clear and concise historical
background, Vlast provides the proper context for non-Russophiles and
non-Russophobes to appreciate Khodorkovsky’s story. Still, given the long
history of Russian and Soviet anti-Semitism, the question of whether
Khodorkovsky’s Jewish heritage has contributed to his persecution is strangely
never really explored.

Vlast joins the growing ranks of valuable documentaries doggedly raising alarms
about the lawlessness of the Putin regime. Unfortunately, previous related films
like Eric Bergkraut’s Letter to Anna and Andrei Nekrasov’s Poisoned by Polonium
have largely fallen on deaf ears in the West. Given its reasoned tone and access
to Khodorkovsky’s inner circle, Vlast should impress viewers concerned about the
current state of the world. Highly recommended, it screens again tomorrow (2/24)
as Documentary Fortnight continues at MoMA.

Labels: Documentary, Documentary Fortnight ‘10, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Putin
Regime