movie review: the wizard of the kremlin

The theatre of politics
The Wizard of the Kremlin (2025, Olivier Assayas): review

I’ve long been fascinated by the real life figure of Vladislav Surkov, sometimes luridly known as ‘Putin’s Rasputin’. He emerged from Moscow’s avant-garde theater scene, and in the late 1990s was elevated to powerful senior roles, dramatically shaping Russia’s domestic politics. From 2011 to 2013, he was also the Russian Deputy Prime Minister. 

One of Surkov’s ploys was what came to be known as “non-linear warfare”. This involved using ideas from conceptual art to stage social campaigns, publicity events and even armed conflicts that superficially did not make sense. For example, the government would publicly support opposing political factions with the sole intent of confusing any opposition: the modern western concept of ‘flooding the zone’ is like a (less sophisticated) version of this. 

I was looking forward to this dramatization, then. I’ve been a fan of director Olivier Assayas’ films before (Personal Shopper, Wasp Network), and was equally intrigued by the leads: Jude Law as Putin and the excellent Paul Dano as ‘Vadim Baranov’ (i.e. Surkov). 

It’s a straight telling of Baranov/Surkov’s unlikely rise. We meet Baranov in grungy underground parties as Boris Yeltsin's government crumbles, the collapse of communism over an electro soundtrack. Baranov meets bohemian artists and becomes a TV producer, soon feted by the oligarchs as someone who can brandish social influence. Putin is chosen as a malleable civil servant to replace Yeltsin. He was head of the FSB secret service but was seen as bland, something of a stuffed suit. Jude Law plays him brilliantly as an initially reluctant, endlessly put-upon bureaucrat, regularly disappearing into beige suits and bad comb-overs. 

Dano, meanwhile, I found an uncomfortable presence. He speaks in a consistent low monotone and his intentions and motivations are never really made clear. He flits between theater and TV and politics and business seamlessly, but all we see is surface. Maybe the real Surkov is also inscrutable, but it doesn’t make for great cinema. 

Real life global events occur. Some are dramatized (Yeltsin’s drunken antics, his public downfall) and some are shown through actual news footage (the Kursk submarine disaster, revolt in Ukraine). It all helps explain the socio-political context and Putin and Baranov rising to consolidate power. In terms of actual dramatic scenes in the film, though, I have to say it isn’t gripping. 

It almost feels like two and half hours of exposition, especially if you don’t gel with some of the directorial choices. Wizard goes the Chernobyl route of not affecting Russian accents, and while it doesn’t seem jarring with Jude Law, Paul Dano’s voice and inflection are more distracting. Their relationship is perhaps an interesting story if you don’t know much about it, but the slow pacing here is problematic.

There’s much about the Surkov/Putin relationship to explore, but at this snail’s pace and with little characterization, I feel like this isn’t the ideal medium. For a short version, I would recommend this primer on non-linear warfare, or for a very thorough analysis and lots about this, then the documentary ‘Hypernormalisation’ by Adam Curtis could be a more edifying and even entertaining use of your time (PO).

The Wizard of the Kremlin is streaming now