Film Examines Rise of Russian Leader Through Adviser

The film The Wizard of the Kremlin centers on a political adviser whose career spans the final years of Soviet rule through the present. The story opens with a writer visiting the now-exiled adviser at his dacha. The adviser recounts his early work in television and his later role helping select and promote a new national leader.

An actor portrays the Russian leader with a quiet, controlled manner that remains on screen for roughly the final half of the film. The adviser character receives more screen time and is shown moving from an artistic background into government service.

The script uses flashbacks to cover the economic changes of the 1990s and the adviser's efforts to shape public messaging around a stronger central authority.

The adviser works with a business figure to place the future leader on television as a steady alternative to the prior administration. The film depicts the leader gradually consolidating power and distancing himself from early supporters. The director previously made films about political upheaval in other countries.

This project moves at a slower pace and focuses on the personal costs of political maneuvering.