Arithmetic of a Murder (Russian: Арифметика убийства) is a 1991 Soviet detective film directed by Dmitry Svetozarov. In a communal apartment in St. Petersburg, a bully, whom everyone hated, was killed. Despite the fact that everyone had a motive for the murder, they all had an alibi. A local disabled person is trying to help the investigator solve the murder.
Contents
Plot
In a dilapidated, rat-infested communal apartment in Saint Petersburg, a crime has been committed — Matvey Ivanovich Bryukhanov, a rowdy drunk and womanizer, is found murdered. The case is assigned to investigator Pyotr Prokofyevich Konev. During the investigation, Konev meets one of the apartment's long-time residents, Ilya Muromtsev, a disabled man who uses a wheelchair. Ilya is highly intelligent and observant, and he reveals secrets about the other residents. It soon becomes clear that nearly everyone in the apartment had a motive to kill Bryukhanov.
At one point, Ilya takes the lead in the investigation, even staging a reenactment of the fateful night’s events in a manner reminiscent of Hamlet. Alongside this live reenactment, he also stages a version using a paper puppet theater he crafted. Ilya's theory is enough to satisfy Konev’s superiors, but it leaves the true mystery unresolved.
Cast
Sergey Bekhterev
Zinaida Sharko
Yury Kuznetsov
Lev Borisov
Olga Samoshina
Vladimir Kashpur
Slava N. Jakovleff