Bender. The Beginning
Бендер: Начало
Russian Empire, 1919. By a twist of fate, young idealist Osip Zadunaisky meets an infamous con artist and self-proclaimed Turkish subject Ibrahim Bender. A man of pure thought and aristocratic upbringing, Osip would never have associated with a cunning and unscrupulous swindler, but Bender comes up with an offer Osip cannot refuse. A precious royal relic, a diamond-encrusted golden scepter is hidden somewhere in town; Bender needs a partner on his mission to find it, and offers Osip a share of the profit from selling the treasure. And so begins their joint venture, wrought with comical and dangerous twists and turns, where they have to outsmart and outmaneuver officers of the White Guard as well as the local mafia, who also have their eyes on the scepter. As their quest unfolds, Osip is compelled to learn Bender’s tricks of the trade: charming flattery, delicate deception, soft intimidation... as well as brute force.
Production Countries
Production Companies
Cast
Georgiy Shtil
as Fuks
Nikita Kologrivyy
as Mishka Yaponchik
Yuriy Utkin
as Administrator
Garik Kharlamov
as Valiadis - host cabaret
Garik Ayvazov
as Isa
Maxim Khanzhov
as Feodosiy Shchus
Vladislav Shkerin
as Gorets
Vladimir Lysenko
as Makhnovets
Olga Sutulova
as Bender's mother
Vera Brezhneva
as Robber
Roberto Fleites
as bandit Mendelya
Yuliya Rutberg
as madam Sokolovich
Aram Vardevanyan
as Ostap Zadunayskiy
Oleg Chugunov
as Grach - street child
Aleksey Dmitriev
as partner of Makhulskaya - swindler - «Baron»
Artyom Tkachenko
as Ametistov - staff captain
Yuriy Petrov
Lyudmila Grigorash
as Washerwoman
Mikhail Shelomentsev
Aleksandr Tsekalo
as Mark Sokolovich
Pavel Derevyanko
as Nestor Mahno
Aleksandr Ilin
as Mendel Vinnitskiy - Mishka's father
Vladimir Matveev
as Captain of the ship
Aleksandr Kakuev
as Funeral guest
Pavel Maykov
Yuri Kolokolnikov
as Grigoriy Kotovskiy
Mikhail Sakulin
as Kornilov's messenger
Igor Klyuchnikov
as Zyama Raevskiy
Rihards Lepers
as Mr. Hammett
Sergei Bezrukov
as Ibrahim Suleiman Berta-Maria Bender-bay
Oksana Bazilevich
as Isupova - baroness
Artur Musikhin
Yuliya Makarova
as Sofi Sokolovich
Dmitry Golovanov
Taisiya Vilkova
as Eva Mahulskaya - swindler
Viktor Tsekalo
as Funt
Aleksandr Petrov
as Karl Stolz
Natalya Bochkareva
as madam Tsits
Crew
Maksim Polinsky
Creative Producer
Ivan Samokhvalov
General Manager
Danila Ippolitov
Executive Producer
Olga Nikulina
Post Production Producer
Ryan Otter
Original Music Composer
Ilya Ilf
Characters
Elena Zhukova
Production Design
Sergey Trofimov
Director of Photography
Aleksandr Tsekalo
General Manager
Nikita Rozhdestvenskiy
Steadicam Operator
Yevgeni Petrov
Characters
Igor Zaytsev
Director
Oleg Malovichko
Screenplay
Aleksandra Remizova
Head of Production
Aleksandr Baranov
Stunt Coordinator
Varvara Avdyushko
Creative Producer
Nikolay Bulygin
Creative Producer