Armando Iannucci directs Steve  Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale and Michael Palin in this black political farce surrounding the infighting that followed the death of the USSR’s key dictator.

Iannucci has a distinct house style. Ambitious but uncertain middle managers bullying each other into jaded compromises. Here with the backdrop of the Soviet Union’s darkest period, where an ill timed insult could result in disappearances rather than a press release, it adds a compelling acerbic edge to the banter and backstabbing. If you are a fan of The Thick of It or In the Loop you must already be on board, but the ensemble assembled here, with an exasperated Buscemi and a bullish Jason Issac’s leading the way, is something else. A real class act and this year’s funniest comedy.

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