[...]The film begins as Kolchin (Denis Nikiforov) makes his final preparations before the championship bout against an American boxer. Before the fight begins, however, we are treated to a flashback in which Artem begins a romance with Vika (Elena Panova), the young opthomologist’s assistant whom he has charmed into certifying his fitness to fight despite her discovery of detached retinas that could lead to blindness if further injured in a boxing match. Artem proceeds to lose both the fight and his sight, after which he is abandoned by his promoter, the shadowy businessman Vagit Valiev (Panin), who refuses to pay for an operation to save the young man’s eyes. Driven by both love and guilt, Vika turns to an old boyfriend, a narcotics dealer, for the money needed for the operation, but she has the unfortunate luck to witness his murder before she can ask for his help.[...]
Gerald McCausland, kinokultura.com
