Attached is the URL for the Nekrasov film on Browder. The producer tells me it is an illegal pirate copy but I assured him I would buy a copy if it ever became available in Canada and he seemed to be happy with that. He tells me "There is an upcoming proper release."
Some background. You've all heard the story: Browder hired a smart Moscow lawyer to investigate a crime. Said lawyer, Sergey Magnitskiy, discovers that two policemen and some thieves-in-law have managed to steal a quarter of a billion dollars from the Russian state pretending to be Browder companies. Magnitskiy goes to the police to complain, is arrested, tortured and beaten to death in prison. Browder has been going around the world, telling this story over and over again and getting laws passed to sanction Russians. The story is a very important part of the foundation of the anti-Russian house.
The film-maker Andrey Nekrasov, who has made several anti-Putin documentaries, is attracted to the story, completely believing Browder. The first 30 minutes of the documentary are him interviewing Browder and, through actors, running the movie as Browder says it.
But, he noticed an anomaly in the story: how can six lumpy cops plus truncheons fit into the tiny cell to beat Magnitskiy to death. He starts pulling on that thread; he finds others, pulls on them, and the entire sweater Browder has knitted falls apart.
Very much worth watching because it not only exposes a very important lie, every repetition of which brings us a step closer to becoming radioactive dust, but also does it in a rather thrilling way as the sweater is unravelled. So, apart from anything else, it's a good mystery.
Two things we learn: 1) that everybody who has "investigated" the story has accepted everything Browder has said without the slightest questioning 2) the whole story depends on people being unable to read Russian so that when Browder shows them a document they are unable to see that it doesn't actually say what Browder is telling them it says.
Also note the German "human rights expert" who is uninterested in mere details.
Oh. Magnitskiy was the "the smartest lawyer in Moscow" and specially hired by Browder to investigate; he was actually an accountant who worked for Browder for years.
So, if you watch this, make a mental note to buy it so that the film team get the royalties they deserve.
