#ivanovich

Meet Ivanovich'voice👌👌👌

VA：Jaden

I paid a lot but its worthyXD😼👾👾

Portrait of General Mikhail Ivanovich Dragomirov

I wanna spend a moment on Ivanovich, head of the crime family Goncharov, Katya, and Andrey are all a part of.

First off, Willem Dafoe. Brilliantly cast. There’s a light in Ivan’s eyes that I don’t think you could get from anyone else, and his delivery is always just...spot on.

But about the man now.

Ivan is a monarch without a kingdom. A patriarch evicted from his home. Throughout his screen time on film, he tries to portray it as otherwise, describing the family's move as a "tactical choice", a "financially driven decision" - it's all a front. He hasn't been able to go from being the USSR's biggest and meanest arms smuggler to a cafe owner humbly.

For some members of his group, this is a chance at a new life. Even has Ivan schemes and plans to angle himself to power in Venice, people like Katya, Goncharov, and Andrey are all living their own lives for a bit. Goncharov works the bar. Katya is a journalist. Andrey is picking up being a Gondolier. For Ivan, the idea that any of them have a genuine desire to leave this game of power never crosses his mind. He's always looking for the next job, the next domino to topple.

He treats Goncharov like a son, frequently outright stating so as well. This behavior, of course, only lasts as long as Goncharov obeys his orders and agrees to carry out his plans without question - and at the start of this extremely long film, that's what he does. Although Goncharov enjoys his life as a barista, he has no illusions about it being a way of life - there are jobs to be done. Pieces to take off the board - and Ivan knows the game.

At least, Ivan thinks he does.

After our introduction to our main tragic heroes, Gonch, Katya, Sofia and Andrey, we are led to Ivan's office. The level of faux power here is...palpable. A delicately carved wooden chair and desk set in a room with peeling wallpaper and cracked windows. A bookshelves filled with a handful of titles - all charred from the burning of the Family's manor. It's the same with everything else around the room. Paintings with blackened frames and shattered glass, ornate chests spattered with dried blood from the firefight as they left.

For all intents and purposes, their lives ended that day - but Ivan refuses to let go of the past.

His original speech is an impassioned rally to his most loyal inner circle - asking them to begin slipping into the local government and people. See what is needed, what is wanted, and who can supply -

And as he raises his arms, proclaiming the Family's rebirth from fire...

He's shot through the gut. More blood across the ashen chests and books.

He survives this unfortunately - but I think the fact that he still doesn't back down, even wounded, speaks volumes about the man. He's going into shock and he's still giving orders, telling Goncharov to tighten security, tasking Andrey with gathering info about possible enemies, and asking Katya to interrogate the family for moles.

That stubbornness, that need for control - it ends up being the death of him. When Gonch eventually defies him, leaving Icepick Joe alive, Ivan completely loses it. Sofia and Andrey both lose their lives by his hand - *and he frames Gonch before tossing him into the fucking ocean.* When both he and Katya come to confront him, leaving a trail of blood and bullets in their wake...we see what Ivan looks like without all of his bravado.

So much of Ivan's pomp and cruelty is driven by the idea that *he is on top*. Even someone as dangerous, as efficient, and unstoppable as GONCHAROV follows his every order - he MUST be powerful. Unconquerable.

And then....he isn't. When they find him, he is rummaging through his desk looking for a gun - we've seen it a couple times. Ivan's had a couple moments of "weakness" as he calls it. Where the memories of losing his wife, his home - his legacy - overwhelm him and he considers taking himself out - and it's another one of those moments.

He has no one in his corner to catch him. No one to keep him safe. No one who trusts him.

It was...cathartic, almost, watching him crawl on his hands and knees, begging his former bodyguards for mercy. Making empty promises, crying, wailing - Gonch has none of it.

Without a word, Goncharov picks him up. Grabs him by his wounded side and sits him on his makeshift throne. Tidies Ivan's suit with a gun to his head and puts his hat on - and then Gonch goes back to join Katya.

We don't know who eventually fires. There's not a word said for a whole five minutes. Our last moments with Ivan...we see the fires through his eyes. Reliving his worst moments, watching everything he cared about being ripped away from him, over and over again - mirroring what he's done to Katya and Gonch.

And then a gun is fired, and the story of Ivan ends.