PRORWEMOS

Nestor Hreem, a gifted Ukrainian nuclear physicist in the Soviet era, is being interrogated by the police. He tells the detective the tragic tale of his life from the late Soviet period up to the present. He was especially traumatized by his experience of the Chernobyl catastrophe of April 1986. Both he and his brother, who’s known by the name Doc, were caught up in the events shortly after the accident. Nestor was preoccupied with saving lives, but his self-seeking brother revealed himself to be unscrupulous and manipulative, and his actions led to the unwitting death of many young people involved in the attempt to salvage the reactor. Nestor’s son was among the victims. Doc’s subsequent career advanced unhindered, and he became an influential personality. Nestor, by contrast, never got over the events of the past. Embittered by the corruption and falsehoods that in his opinion continue to define Ukrainian society and state, his spirit was broken. For many, however, the Orange Revolution appears to bring hope of change...

The film lives above all from captivating, documentary-like images that draw an oppressive and authentic portrait of catastrophe. They are embedded in a historical context that unfolds the country’s recent history over two unequal brothers’ fates and paths through life, and vividly conveys the trauma of Chernobyl and its aftermath.