The Lightest Darkness

The first-ever female directed Russian film noir — with reverse chronology.

When a neurotic private eye, who is struggling to finish his last case, takes a train voyage to confront the inevitability of his investigation’s conclusion, his own dark secrets begin to reveal themselves…

Spurred by film-noir momentum and Kafkian conundrum, The Lightest Darkness is a visually stunning neo-noir thriller set around the fictional City of “N” as two fearless women board a train for a dangerous trip. Arina (Irina Gevorgyan), an obstinate screenwriter who is currently seeking crime-related inspiration for a new video game, and Elina (Marina Voytuk), a self-reliant pianist who has witnessed the murder of a serial killer; share their car with Musin (Rashid Aitouganov), an insomniac, neurotic, and traumatized private detective who has been riding on the same train for six months, and whose bizarre behavior leads them to believe that he may be the killer.