Filming of the historical film Plevako with Sergei Bezrukov has started

Filming of the historical court drama Plevako has started in Moscow. The multi-part film will tell about the legendary Russian lawyer and brilliant orator, whom his contemporaries called the “Moscow Chrysostom”, Fyodor Nikiforovich Plevako. The main role in the film will be played by the People’s Artist of Russia Sergey Bezrukov.

Timur Weinstein, general producer of the NTV channel: “I have been nurturing the idea for a long time – to tell in cinematic language about our great compatriot, brilliant lawyer and outstanding public figure Fyodor Nikiforovich Plevako. When working on the script, it became clear that many of the cases taken for the picture are still relevant today, and people of this magnitude are of interest to the audience, regardless of age. Together with the main character, the viewer will have to go through one of the most dramatic and emotionally intense periods of his life. We managed to collect an amazing casting, the pearl of which was Sergey Bezrukov in the role of Plevako. How deeply Sergey got used to the image of the legendary lawyer is amazing.”

Alexey Uchitel, general producer of the ROK film studio: “In my opinion, in both historical and contemporary paintings, there are often not enough people on whom we can focus and who we can be proud of. And Plevako is just such a person. In many ways, he turned the idea of ​​​​what a lawyer could be. He knew how to achieve victory in any business, even if at first glance it seemed hopeless. There were legends about his court speeches, both Chaliapin and Stanislavsky came to listen to them … In a word, we are talking about a truly unique personality. There are ten episodes in our project, and each is a separate case, which is led by Fyodor Nikiforovich. There will be action, and a detective line, and, of course, the line of the fate of the hero himself. But it seems to me that the human material will be the most interesting for the viewer.”

In the 60s of the XIX century, Alexander II carried out a number of liberal reforms, one of which was the judicial one. An important innovation was the openness of jury trials and the right of any defendant to defense. Thus, by the end of the 70s – the beginning of the 80s in St. Petersburg and Moscow, a separate group of lawyers began to stand out among lawyers, many of whom were real stars, and high-profile trials with their participation began to attract hundreds of spectators, competing with theatrical performances.

Fyodor Plevako was one of the brightest heroes of that time. In addition to outstanding oratorical talent and natural ingenuity, he had another important feature that distinguishes him from other lawyers – he was from the people. Being illegitimate himself, Plevako perfectly understood ordinary people and really wanted to help them, which made him a people’s favorite.

In 1880, 38-year-old Fyodor Plevako (Sergey Bezrukov) is at the peak of his form. He has a family – a wife and son, his own successful office with an assistant – an advanced young Englishman Shubninsky, who will later be joined by Plevako’s sister Yulia – a stronghold of feminism and advanced ideas. And besides, a lot of friends and good acquaintances, starting with high society and philanthropist Savva Mamontov and ending with bandits from Khitrovka, where Plevako periodically takes part in fisticuffs.

The starting point of the story will be the moment when the idyll built by Plevako begins to crumble. He is offered to take the case of a certain Praskovya Kachka, who shot her former lover, a student of noble blood, Bayrashevsky. It is within the framework of this case that the interests of a number of influential people will converge, including the powerful adviser to Alexander II, Konstantin Petrovich Pobedonostsev, and Plevako’s peace will be in jeopardy. Everything becomes even more complicated when Plevako suddenly and mutually falls in love with the wife of the linen magnate Maria Demidova.

Sergey Bezrukov, who plays the role of Fedor Plevako:

“Fyodor Nikiforovich Plevako is an interesting personality, a star of his time! The newspapers in which his speeches were published were sold out at lightning speed, they went to his speeches in court as if they were going to a concert or to a theater. If he took up protection, he did it in good faith. A lawyer does not choose whom to defend. Sometimes Fyodor Nikiforovich took on situations that seemed hopeless, and still managed to turn the case in such a way that the jury saw a person in front of them, his inner world, and not the act he had committed, and compassion awakened in them. In general, I believe that everyone has the right to protection. My character is the last chance for the one who is guilty, his hope for salvation. I am very impressed with the decency of Fedor Nikiforovich: in any situation he remained a man, and this is the most important thing.

Anna Matison, project director:

“The work on the project took a very long time. The idea of ​​its creation belongs to Timur Weinstein. There are enough people from the world of advocacy who have changed the idea of ​​this profession, but Plevako occupies a separate place in this list. He was not just a brilliant lawyer, he was a brilliant speaker, an artist: he made people cry, laugh, empathize with his charges. To get Plevako as a defender meant to become the owner of a winning lottery ticket.

In each series, viewers will witness not only one serious case based on a real case from Plevako’s practice, but also small anecdotes – cases in which the “Moscow Chrysostom” literally managed to turn the sympathy of the jury in the right direction with just one or two phrases.

Filming will take place in Moscow and the Moscow region.

Inna Shkarbanova.

Photo PR NTV