The Half Life of Timofey Berezin (PU-239) (2006)

50% of critics liked it
(6 reviews)
69% of users liked it
(1,146 ratings)

First-time writer/director Scott Burns spins this suspenseful yarn about a nuclear technician who has a curious encounter with a notoriously violent Russian gangster (Nikolaj Lie Kaas). The year is 1995, and Timofey (Paddy Considine) is a nuclear power-plant worker in post-Soviet Russia. After being… More First-time writer/director Scott Burns spins this suspenseful yarn about a nuclear technician who has a curious encounter with a notoriously violent Russian gangster (Nikolaj Lie Kaas). The year is 1995, and Timofey (Paddy Considine) is a nuclear power-plant worker in post-Soviet Russia. After being exposed to dangerous levels of radiation while working to avert a disaster, Timofey discovers that the authorities have deliberately misled him about the severity of his exposure, and that he will likely die in just a few days. Determined to provide for his wife (Radha Mitchell) and young son before he succumbs to the effects of radiation, Timofey absconds with a small amount of weapons grade plutonium, straps the vial to his body, and makes his way to Moscow in hopes of making a quick and profitable sale in the criminal underground. This is the "new Russia," where everything has its price, and Timofey is determined to secure his family's future even if he himself has none. Oscar Issac and Jason Flemyng co-star in a film produced by Section Eight and Beacon Pictures for HBO Films, and distributed by Picturehouse. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 47 min.
Directed By: Scott Z. Burns
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Drama

On DVD: Mar 25, 2008
Studio: Picturehouse

Critic Reviews

Eddie Cockrell, Variety
Imagine anticipating a Ken Loach film and being shown a Guy Ritchie movie.
John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter
Solidly made, timely and spotlighting a fine performance by Paddy Considine.
Brian Gibson, Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)
An environmentally minded, politically charged thriller. The way that life ends with a whimper, not a bang, in a Russia even more fissured by self-interest, is heartbreaking.
Matt McKillop, Filmcritic.com
a minor-key drama
Susan Green, Boxoffice Magazine
This sad but intriguing premise wanes in a mish-mash of attempted Russian accents and clumsy storytelling.
Adam Nayman, eye WEEKLY
The film is undone by sloppy plotting, over-deliberate writing and a few terrible ebbs in tone.
Jon Popick, Planet Sick-Boy
A surprisingly funny tale of a man dying from radiation poisoning.

Read all 7 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Bruce B

To me a really good movie, maybe beacuse of the number of times I have been to Russia and seen the conditions people live in over there. Great story, feel that Russian Nuclear Submarine Sailors and Crewmen (KGB). have to live with these facts often, as I am sure the goverment… More
To me a really good movie, maybe beacuse of the number of times I have been to Russia and seen the conditions people live in over there. Great story, feel that Russian Nuclear Submarine Sailors and Crewmen (KGB). have to live with these facts often, as I am sure the goverment sweep's them up and ships them to somewhere secret in the Motherland, most likely Northern Russia. A dissapointing ending, it just ended. Comical gand Members. A Rental. Not a Add to any collection. Would have gotten my 5 stars had it ended better. Oh Russian women are always welcome.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"PU-239" is the radioactive isotope of plutonium that Timofey(Paddy Considine) is trying to sell in the black market of Moscow, two days after being exposed to a lethal dose of radiation at the nuclear plant where he works and stole the plutonium. After… More
[font=Century Gothic]"PU-239" is the radioactive isotope of plutonium that Timofey(Paddy Considine) is trying to sell in the black market of Moscow, two days after being exposed to a lethal dose of radiation at the nuclear plant where he works and stole the plutonium. After the accident, he was suspended without pay and is trying to raise $30,000 to tide over his wife Marina(Radha Mitchell) and son Tolya(Danya Baryshnikov). In Moscow, he makes contact with Shiv(Oscar Isaac), a petty criminal who has problems of his own, namely him and his two cohorts(Jason Flemyng and Jordan Long) owing $6000 for burning down the wrong business while running a protection racket for their boss Tusk(Nikolaj Lie Kaas).[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"PU-239" is a harrowing tragicomedy that focuses less on nuclear terrorism(which is cool, so I did not have to lie awake all night), then as a damning portrait of post-Communism Russia which is falling apart at the seams. While Timofey might convey the tragedy and Shiv the comedy, they are both honorable men and of similar minds concerning family, both wanting to do the right thing by their sons.(Speaking of which, the movie does a great job of detailing the perils of lacking a proper education.) Risking his life, Timofey stopped a meltdown at work while Shiv is clearly the best of a very bad lot. In the end, none of these values are exactly encouraged in present day Russia.[/font]

Cast

Paddy Considine
as Timofey
Radha Mitchell
as Marina
Oscar Isaac
as Shiv

See full cast

The Half Life of Timofey Berezin (PU-239) (2006)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Bruce B

Walter M

Cast

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