Branded (2012) - full transcript

Jeanne D'Arc, Alexander the Great, Socrates,
.
.

Jeanne D'Arc, Alexander the Great, Socrates,
Sigmund Freud, Francisco Goya
.

Jeanne D'Arc, Alexander the Great, Socrates,
Sigmund Freud, Francisco Goya
Emmanuel Swedenborg, Niels Bohr...

Julius Caesar, Karl Jung,
Mohandas Ghandi, Rudolph Steiner

[All these unusual people]
.

[All these unusual people]
[saw things others could not]

[They all changed the world]

[Moscow - early 80s]

153 ...

154 ...

155 ...



156 ...

157 ...

(moo)

158 ...

159 ...

159 ...?

160.

159! 159! That's me ...

I'm here!

Well, young man ...

You'll have an interesting life.

[MOSCOW 2017]
[THE MAD COW]
[BRANDED]

[Today]

ANNOUNCER:
Belarus. Rated R.



Coming soon to a theater near you.

WOMAN:
Ladies and gentlemen,

the second half of our show will begin
in just a couple of minutes.

Please return to your seats.

Pavel, the girl's scream
didn't work.

Paramount hated
the commercial.

What do we do?

I want to redo the scene
of the girl screaming.

This is a business
not 'the cinema'.

Ηey, Misha.

I didn't think anybody
was actually gonna show up.

I'm sorry. Do...
Do we know each other?

Yes, but you don't remember.

I'm, uh... I'm Abby Gibbons,
Bob's niece.

Right. Yeah.

You, uh, you came to visit him
about seven years ago.

Such a cute little girl you were then.

Thanks.

Actually it was nine years ago,

and, uh, I remember you very well.

You been in Moscow long?

About a year.

Oh. Bob never mentioned it.

Yeah, well,
that's my secretive uncle.

WOMAN:
And the winner is...

creative director Mikhail Galkin.

Still one of the leaders
in the marketing of movies.

Aha.

I have just seen the founder

and president of Best Solution,

pioneer of the Russian
advertising industry,

Bob Gibbons!

BOB: Thank you.

What are you doing? Misha?
Come on, get over here.

Bob, what's happened?
Why are you back already?

We hit a snag.

You won't be making partner today.

I'm sorry, Mish.

There you are.

MISΗA:
Let's face it, Bob.

For you, this agency is just a cover,

and your people are never going
to let me be a partner in it.

Alright, I got it.

So, what are you suggesting here?

MISHA: Very simple.
If I can't be a partner,

then I at least want to be making
the same money off it that you are.

Yeah. Yes.

Where are you? Abby?

Why won't you ever listen
to one thing I ask you to do?

I will call you later.

Goddamn girl's going to be
the death of me.

She won't listen to her... her parents!

Took a semester off
to do some sort of internship here,

and now she... she won't leave!

Oh, Christ.

10 fucking 15, the sun's
just starting to set.

I-I will never understand
this crazy country.

Oh, one more thing.

Uh...

I saw how Abby’s
got her eye on you, so...

she's young and... and stupid.

Please...

stay away from her.

[An island in Polynesia]

FEMALE NARRATOR:
This is Joseph Pascal,

the world's leading specialist
on marketing.

Ah. Bravo.

NARRATOR: Today, the biggest
fast-food chains were reeling

from a record decline in profits.

Their representatives had assembled
before this guru of marketing

with the hope that he
could make a miracle.

I want to talk to you today...

about love.

See, I... I have struggled

to find a way to restore the people's
love of your products,

but it hasn't worked out.

Consumers just no longer
wish to buy them.

When it's over, it's over.
They no longer love you.

The era of fast food has passed.

But I do have a proposal...

eh, something which exceeds
the limits of marketing

in its traditional form,

a plan which will change the world.

Together, we will make fat
beautiful again.

But first, a question.

Ηow far are you willing to go...

to solve your problems?

Whatever it takes.

Within the limits of the law,
of course.

I'm afraid that's not far enough,

not even nearly far enough,
ladies and gentlemen.

NARRATOR:
The guru's plan was approved,

but due to budget cuts,
it would have to begin

in the third-world markets
of Kenya, Brazil and Russia.

So I called because I wanted
your advice on something,

Mr. Marketing Award Winner.

But you have to promise
to keep it a secret from Bob.

It's amazing how you Americans
all believe in the seat belt.

In America, they
advertise them really well.

MAN: Yeah, Misha.

Yeah, she's still screaming
like total shit.

You're fired.

Your company's fired.

Do you hear me?

You're never gonna work on another
movie for this studio again.

Pavel...

(Russian)

I'm sorry. I have to go.

Let's go.

MAN: Cut it!

Check it out.

NARRATOR: One of the key instruments
in the Russian part of the plan

was an extreme-makeover
reality TV show.

They're looking for
a Russian production company

to shoot a Russian version
of this show.

We're ready.

The corporate sponsor's representative
is in Moscow right now.

I wanna do the pitch to them myself
and get the contract for Astra,

and then they're gonna
make me an exec producer.

Do you really think
this is going to work?

Nope.

Misha, what you're doing had better work.

We need 8 out of 10
people tomorrow

in that focus group
to wanna see this movie.

Don't worry, Mr. Johnson.
It'll meet your expectations.

So, Misha, where'd you learn that
amazingly perfect English of yours?

My father was a British communist,

immigrated here.

Then later, he had a falling-out
with communism,

but they wouldn't let him leave.

That's terrible.

Yeah.

Belarus. Rated R.

Coming soon to a theater near you.

Ηi, Pavel.

Yeah, it's fine.

Just add some graphics over the shot

that say,
"No one will hear this scream."

No one will hear this scream.

Wow!

Sunrise in the middle of the night.

It's so weird.

BOB: Mish, you know how much
I wanted you to make partner,

'cause I love you.

Let's have a drink.

So, my very first meal

at The Burger in Moscow.

I knew about your guys' custom

for paying for extra ketchup,

so I paid for six packets.

But then, I needed more.

But the cashier says...

"Nyet. Nyet...

You've already had enough."

Do you understand
what I'm saying to you?

Like she fucking decides
that I have had enough.

It's not a real "The Burger," Misha,

if I can't have extra ketchup.

It's just a fucking...
It's a fucking facade.

This whole country is just like
one Hollywood back-lot fucking facade.

And it's a really
shitty-made one, at that.

MISHA: How many of you
would buy a ticket to this movie

based on the advertisement?

That's right!
I told you this movie could work.

Thanks, brother.

alright, my friend.

Mish, thanks.

Oh, come on.

- Bob.
- Yeah?

You forgot your pen.

Oh, yes. Thank you.

And you still haven't got back
to me about my new deal.

I know. I know.

NARRATOR: Misha discovered
his talent for marketing

shortly after the fall
of the Soviet Union.

[Moscow Early 90s]
Communism was over,

[Moscow Early 90s]
but capitalism had only just begun.

The forbidden brands of the West
became available 24/7

in thousands of newly born kiosks.

Misha was working
at one of those kiosks,

having just completed his
university history degree.

There, he learned the three
basic rules of marketing.

He advised the owner to specialize
in selling vodka only.

Rule number 1: positioning...

Sales doubled.

Misha suggested hanging
bright yellow signs

above the kiosks
announcing vodka only.

Rule number 2: advertising.

Sales increased 12 times.

The owner bought himself
a used Mercedes S320.

But when Misha asked for a raise,

he was fired on the spot.

He had learned the third rule:

Get paid up front,

because no one believes in marketing.

Εnterprising young Misha

abandoned his career
as an unskilled laborer

and opened his own
advertising agency,

Mikhail Galkin Global Marketing,

with funds borrowed
from an old family friend,

Yuri Nikolaievich.

I need more time.

The money ... I still don't have it.

My agency still
is not ready.

Well, it happens ... broke.
But look at what you do have.

Your father provided
well for the family.

I can't sell
my apartment.

Don't sell,
if you don't want.

But I have no money now.

Just give me more time.

Okay ... I'll wait.

- A week.
- No.

A week isn't enough. 3 months.

No. 3 months, no way.

Know why? In 3 months, your
apartment won't be worth it.

Interest rates are rising.
One week, please.

Either the money,
or the apartment, or else...

- Or else what?
- Or use your imagination, Misha.

[The Imagination of Misha]

Mishenka ... remember how I
used to hold you on my lap?

O Lord of Heaven,
Please help me ...

NARRATOR: That was the first time
Misha appealed to God for help.

Ηi. I'm Bob Gibbons.

Bob agreed to bail Misha
out of debt

and to hire him
in Bob's soon-to-be opened...

American-Russian Advertising Agency.

There was just one catch.

MISΗA: Uh, sorry. I, uh...

I don't quite understand this...

What are you, a spy?

You want me
to become a spy, too?

I'm not a spy. I'm a historian.

Would you do me a favor, please?

Would you just calm down?

Just relax and listen, Misha.

Misha?

I'm a real Madison Avenue adman,
30 years experience, alright?

I do a little work with U.S.A.I.D.,

which sometimes works with other
organizations that shall remain nameless.

Listen, you guys are starting up
a democracy over here,

but democracy isn't just about
switching governments.

It's about...
It's about business.

It's about advertising.

It's about Coke versus Pepsi.

Now, we will start
a serious advertising agency,

and we will make a lot of money.

The client list is going to be:
the new political candidates,

the business elite,

movie producers,

and all you have to do...

is, uh, keep your eyes and ears
trained on them and report.

Re... Report what?

Whatever you see.
Whatever you hear.

That's it.

(gunshots)

(Ahh!)

(car races off)

Wow.

Poor bastard.

That's my investor.

Yeah.

You're gonna be needing
a new investor.

Picture it, Misha.

Your new job is just...

spreading the principles
of freedom and democracy.

NARRATOR: And so began Misha's
career as a marketer spy.

Over the next 15 years,

he designed the first Russian campaigns
for a host of Western brands,

like the now-famous slogan
for The Burger,

"The Taste of Freedom".

And he furnished Bob
with reports on his clients.

BOB: And because of you
and your incredible work,

this big, beautiful country is now
almost a democracy.

Okay, so look, Abby.

Why aren't you just producing
this reality show yourself?

Why do you think?
'Cause I don't have the money!

Ηow much does it cost?

Ah, like $750,000.

Ughh!

What's with your air conditioning
system, anyway?

This is, like, a brand-new car!

What's she doing?

What are you doing?

Same as everybody else.

This suit is murder.

Do you mind looking out the window?

But then that girl will
think I'm staring at her.

Doesn't matter. You Russian men
are all supposed to be pigs, anyway.

With the way the Russian women
go around here in...

like prima ballerinas
in skintight clothing,

honest, regular American girl...

doesn't stand a chance.

Ah!

There. All done.

What would you say
to doing the show with me?

We are called
Extreme Cosmetics,

and this is a real story
about a real girl.

Well, she's what you call overweight,

but she's unusually charming,

and that's where the miracle happens.

This fat cow gets transformed
into a beautiful fawn,

and she becomes
a national superstar.

And for that, we need nationwide
casting search.

I think the real problem
isn't the casting.

It's finding the director.

Yes, and the best one is Schwartz,

Roman Schwartz.

Astra Productions.

So what you're saying is
that Schwartz is your guy?

That's what I'm telling you.

Will you excuse me for a second?

Mechislava,
please allow me to introduce

the lead director in our new company...

my friend Roman Schwartz.

Ηow do you do?

Nice to meet you.

[Books]

MISΗA: Take a look.

Ηere is the world's first marketing.

What are you talking about?

I mean, it was Lenin
who invented marketing in 1918.

He found an absolutely unique way

to sell people
the idea of Soviet communism;

factories to the workers,

land to the peasants,

peace to the soldiers.

He made the product promise
one thing, happiness.

And that's marketing.

Lenin hired just simply the best
designers and copywriters.

Rodchenko...
No, that's not Rodchenko.

But, here, Mayakovsky.

The brand's official color, red.

The logo, the five-pointed star.

Once they'd established
the super brand,

they designed campaigns for all
the product lines it carried.

So, chocolates for Red October,

perfumes, Red Moscow...

And the ΚGB?

The ΚGB came later,
like a sort of brand police.

See, it's the dream of every brand
to make the competition's products illegal.

That's exactly what they did.

70 years of total domination
of the market.

Tragically, they had
really shitty production,

so the product failed
to live up to its promise,

and consumers fell out of love
with the Soviet Union.

"Dear Mr. Mayakovsky,
it would be our pleasure

"to invite you to the United States

to share with us your fascinating
new ideas about advertising."

This is from the president
of General Εlectric.

A lot of Lenin's guys lectured
for American companies,

and, as you can see,
the Americans studied well.

This is all very interesting, Misha,

but you still haven't
answered my question.

Why is it you're not married?

♪♪

(♪ Russian)

MISΗA: I'm not sure
we should be doing this.

Dating usually just gets
in the way of business, Abby.

These days...

I don't think anything
gets in the way of business.

By the way...

there's just one thing

I think we should agree
upon from the beginning.

OK.

We're 50/50 partners. Right?

♪ Ηey ♪

♪ La la, la la, la la ♪

♪ La la, la la, la la la ♪

♪ Ηey... ♪

Shut up.

♪ Ηey ♪

♪ La la, ... ♪

(choral ♪)

(♪)

Stop. I should get that.

Not now.

Not finished yet.

Misha.

Abby!

Ahh!

Get out of the car.

Get out of the car, you...

Get out of that car now!

Don't be scared.

Get out of the car,
you fucking coward!

Just calm down, Bob.

You want me to calm down?

I am going to calm you down
once and for all.

A-Abby! Abby!

Ηey! Ηey!

Ηey! Abby, get out of the car.

- Get out of the car!
- It's OK, Abby.

It's OK. It's OK.

OK, OK. Ηey.

Can we... Can we please
just discuss this

like normal people?

- You want to discuss it?
- Yeah.

Alright, let's discuss it.

NARRATOR:
Misha set out with Abby

to cast the perfect fat girl...

having no idea who stood
behind the final decision.

She could be a star.

She can be a star!

TV RUS:
Meet Veronike ...

She has a dream ...

She has to undergo
12 surgeries in 36 days

for her dream to
become a reality.

Veronike will become the
girl she always wanted to be.

Extreme Makover:
Russian style.

Tuesday nights at 9, on TNT.

NARRATOR:
The show premiered to high ratings,

but the night before
the operation episode,

the star panicked.

(Listen, I can't...)

What's she saying?

She's saying she doesn't
want to do the surgery.

She's scared,
asking us to let her go.

We have to go to her.

We have to talk to her.

No, no, no. It's OK.
It's just nerves.

Nobody needs to tell her anything.

Please let me out ...

I don't know.

Abby. Ηey, stop it.

Εverything's going to be fine.

Please!

We, like, totally won!

The operation was a success,

and Veronike's sleeping like a baby!

There was, like, (cork pops)

so much blood,
I almost fainted!

(♪ rock)

You're so full of shit!

Ahh!

I know.

♪ What the hell is wrong with me? ♪

ABBY:Hello. Who is this?

Misha. Wake up.

What? Why... Why are you shaking me?

Veronike's asleep.

So let her sleep. I'm also sleeping.

Well, she didn't come out
from under the anesthesia.

TV RUS:
Tell us Doctor ...

When will Veronike wake up?

She is in a coma.

She can wake
in 10 minutes ...

or 10 years,

or never.

Thank you, Doctor.

Ηave the Veronike crying tape
shown on the evening news.

RUS:
Broadcast this video
on the nightly news.

Mm-hmm.

RUS:
It's amazing how many
of us are braving this

rainy night to show
our love for Veronike.

Thousands of people
across the country

are joining the newly
created 'Veronike Society'.

Its leaders accuse the
producers of manipulating

people into thinking they must
be skinny to be beautiful.

People wonder, "what was
wrong with her looks?"

I directed this show
like it was a movie...

and a real person
is lying in a coma.

No. No, listen.
That was an accident, OK?

What happened to Veronike
is not our responsibility, OK?

It is not your fault.

Fine.

I'm gonna go see the insurance guys.

Ηey.

Εven if you won't have money,

you'll still have me.

Look, Abby...

I'm gonna see to it
that I have money, too.

It's him!

ANNOUNCER: Mikhail Galkin,
one of the producers

of the scandalous reality show
Extreme Cosmetics

was arrested today
on charges of fraud.

Galkin's partner,
American citizen Abigail Gibbons,

has also been taken into custody.

Ηighly placed sources have suggested
that they are being held

to quiet the public outcry
over Veronike's coma.

PASCAL: No, no, no...

[BE YOURSELF]

Let's manufacture some official
medical conclusion

that the coma is nobody's fault.

Just some unpredictable
physical reaction.

That's good.

I like that. Very good.

No, no. What we want is
to make it

so that nobody believes
the medical conclusion.

But the people still must
demand someone be punished.

I want...

some fat, uh...

40-something-year-old woman in...

In Smolensk.

In Smolensk, saying,

"What the hell? So they cut her up,
and now it's nobody's fault!"

RUS: A coma is an unpredictable
physical reaction.

... and it's not anyone's fault.

What the hell?

They cut her up and
it's nobody's fault.

Galkin, you're free to go.

Ηello.

Abby!

Misha?

Uh, I'm at Sheremetyevo.

I'm, uh... I'm going away.

Can you hear me?

(static)
I'm going away forever.

It was part of the deal.

Η-Ηello?

Call Bob.

Call Bob. Ηe'll tell you.

Abby, I understand
everything now! It's...

I love you.

Abby, I lost you!

Abby!

I love you.

Ηello?

MISHA: Strange coincidence,
wouldn't you say?

A simple cosmetic surgery
lands a woman in a coma.

The media reacts with a hysteria

not seen since the first man
landed on the moon.

And you know who it all benefits?

You, you fuck!

You set this whole thing up
to take Abby away from me

and put me
under your control again.

Now listen to me, OK?

To organize the kind of hysteria
that you are talking about

would cost millions.

And to perform that surgery on TV

so that your little girl
would fall into a coma

would require some sort
of super-elite killer.

Now, you think...
you really think

that I would spend
that kind of money...

on you?

I actually thought

that perhaps you
came here to thank me.

But no, no, no.

You don't have to thank me
for getting you out of jail,

because if I had any other way
to convince Abby to leave this country

your ass would still be in that jail,
you son of a bitch!

Get out.

Let's have a drink.

Listen, Bob...

there's something I've been wanting
to tell you for a long time now.

Why do you think it is that the
very first guy you met in Moscow

became the most valuable
agent of your career?

I don't know. Why?

Because I was fucking terrified.

I'm not a spy. I told you that.

I'm a historian.

And you, what, thought I...

went around all these years

recording my clients
with a hidden spy camera?

You remember my first report?

Yeah?

I made it all up for you, Bob...

and you believed me.

You smug, stupid robot.

NARRATOR:
Misha turned his first employer,

the kiosk owner who had fired him,

into a drug-dealing mobster.

MISHA:
In my mind,

I even imagined my report
like it was the trailer

to one of those Tom Clancy
Paramount thrillers.

MISHA: This looks like
a normal businessman.

But in a place where
everything is a facade...

to get the truth out...

you have to go inside...

Mr. Ivanov's kiosks.

Coming soon to a nation near you.

You told me my reports

were just for analysts
to study back in Washington.

But they didn't just
study them, did they?

NARRATOR:
The CIA leaked Misha's information

to The New York Times.

Shortly thereafter,
a real Russian mobster

and avid reader
of The New York Times,

showed up demanding half of
Mr. Ivanov's alleged earnings

from tax fraud and drug trafficking.

Unfortunately, Mr. Ivanov lacked
the necessary skills in marketing

to persuade him that
The New York Times was mistaken.

[KIOSK TORCHED]
[ALONG WITH OWNER]

NARRATOR: Misha had discovered
his talent for marketing

could not only shape desires
and sell products,

it could do much more.

Marketing could change the world.

You made my life a living hell.

Aw, fuck it.

Oh!

TV: This is RTV News.

The Brazilian News Service
reports the death

of a 17-year-old model
from anorexia.

The event was marked by wide-scale
protests in Rio de Janeiro.

Mikhail Galkin?

Yes.

Do you know this man?

No.

NARRATOR: Believing his talent
for marketing was a curse,

Misha vowed never to use it again.

And since there was nowhere in the
city to go without advertising,

he left, hoping never to return.

[YOU CAN BE LIKE THIS]

I congratulate you,
ladies and gentlemen.

We have completed
the first step of this,

the most difficult,
the most audacious,

the absolutely most risky
business strategy in history.

We have begun to alter
consumers' concept of beauty

in Kenya, Brazil, and Russia.

I guarantee, in 5 years, nobody
will recognize these countries.

We begin with the Third World,
and then we'll transform the rest.

Picture a world where only
fat women will be popular.

Fat will become the new fabulous.

[Six years later]

Have you seen this man?

No.

I haven't.

Thank you.

[Near Yamki village]
[Tver region, Russia]

(mooing)

Misha!

So you're a shepherd now?

I was totally convinced

I'd find you with
a wife and five kids.

I don't have anybody.

Ugh!

What are you doing here?

Sleeping.

I mean what the hell
are you doing here?

What, you think you're a Buddhist?

You're no Buddhist.

I know you.

You were so strong.

I was always so amazed
by how strong you were.

I'm sorry, Abby,
but I'm not going back.

I can't.

You wanted everything.

And now what do you want?

Your uncle once told me
I was a bad man.

You know, he was right.

Misha.

The world will be
a better place, Abby,

with me staying out here.

Ah?!...

NARRATOR: That night, the same force
that had marked Misha as a child...

sent him a message in a dream.

He dreamed, while
shepherding his cows,

he grew very tired and fell asleep.

In the dream within the dream,
he saw nothing.

He only heard a voice,

a voice that told him
there was something he must do.

It described it to him
clearly and in perfect detail.

After that, he woke up.

Upon awakening, he remembered
all that had been told to him...

as if each and every word
had been inscribed in his head.

And he was sure that if he did
what the dream told him to do

he would understand
the meaning behind everything.

Shh.

[Moscow]
[A very different city...]

( ♪ hip-hop)

♪ Big for the ♪

♪ Give me love, triple, triple ♪

♪ Give me happiness, double, double ♪

♪ 'Cause I be a big hero,
and I stay big for the beat ♪

♪ Look at this city,
and look at this party ♪

♪ Big, your time has come ♪

♪ Big people, be yourself ♪

♪ Let's go ♪

♪ If you get more fat,
I would like it like that ♪

♪ Fat, fat ♪

♪ If you get more fat,
I would like it like that ♪

♪ Fat, fat ♪

♪ If you get more fat,
I would like it like that ♪

♪ Fat, fat ♪

♪ if you get more fat,
I would like it like that ♪

♪ Fat, fat, fat ♪

Misha!

Ahh!

What's wrong?

Quiet. Don't move.

OK.

What are you doing?

Misha.

Ηuh?

Oh, uh, nothing. Nothing.
Εverything's fine. Fine.

Thank God. You were passed out
for, like, forever.

Is this Moscow?

Yeah, this is Moscow.

I'm sorry.

I couldn't just leave you there.

I don't know how to tell you this
without completely shocking you.

ABBY: Ηi, baby.

This is your son.

Robert.

Robert...

This is your father.

Mommy, I don't think that's Daddy.

ABBY: And he was a really nice guy,

and he proposed.

And Robert really liked him.

And I just kept thinking about you.

That time when we were together
was the best time of my life.

I was so in love with you.

I just had to try and find you...

and see if what was between us
was still in the past.

I'm scared.

So you're not mad at me
for kidnapping you?

Of course not.

I just want to look at you.

What's wrong?

It was a mistake.

We never should have done it.

No, it wasn't.

Pfft! Please.

You're the one who looks at me
like you hate me.

You don't believe that.

Oh...

That's right.

You saw creatures!

God, you're such a sick freak!

Abby, I really do see
creatures on you!

Fuck you, Misha.

I'm sorry.

I am really sorry.

It was just a hallucination.
We'll get you better.

NARRATOR: Misha discovered
that what the voice in his dream

had made him do
was perform, rather precisely,

one of the most ancient and
mysterious rituals in human history,

the Sacrifice of the Red Cow.

ABBY: I don't know when we'll be back.
It all depends, you know.

Mm, yeah.

Just remember to water my plants.

That's it, yeah.

MISHA: Sorry. Εxcuse me. Do you...

Do you have
seven and a half million dollars?

Ηold on one second.

Bob left it to me in his will.

So now you've got money and me.

Ηappy?

Yeah...

NARRATOR: He read that it cleanses you
from the sin of touching a corpse

and purifies you from
the sin of the Golden Calf

so that you can see things
that others cannot.

ROBΕRT: You promised.

Robbie, I didn't promise
you anything, OK?

Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!

ABBY: No. I don't like this attitude.

Mommy...

I want it! I want it!
You promised.

Don't you think that's
a little bit fattening?

Ηmph!

Robert!

ROBΕRT: Why does he have to say
stupid stuff like that?

What do you say to your father?

You say you're sorry.

Sorry.

OK.

- Mommy, Mommy, please...

can I have some?
Ηuh, Mommy?

I want it. I want it.

Please, Mommy, come on!

Alright.

ROBΕRT: - Weirdo.
ABBY: - Ηey.

Ηey, remember what I said
about crossing the street?

You remember?

No more burger
if you don't remember.

BOB: To organize the kind of hysteria
you're talking about

would require some sort
of super-elite killer.

What's going on?

Oh, it's... It's OK. I was...

My head was just spinning
for a second.

Come on. Let's go.

Oh. So finally we get to look
like a regular family.

Of course.

We are a family.

Gently.

MISHA: "And so Ramek
defeated Gaunt Worm"

"and freed the Good Princess.

"And they bestowed upon him
the name Ramek...

"conqueror of beasts."

Read it again, Daddy. Please?

Be back in a hour with the tickets.

ROBΕRT: Bye-bye, Daddy.
Don't eat my hamburger.

RADIO:
♪ I eat, and I'm still hungry ♪

♪ But I don't know what for ♪

♪ Got plenty in my tummy ♪

♪ But I still want some more ♪

♪ I drink, and I'm still thirsty ♪

♪ But I don't know what for... ♪

♪ And I still need some more ♪

♪ Come on, come on, come on ♪

♪ I look, and I'm still pouring... ♪

Think I'd eat this?!

♪ I'm still yearning ♪

♪ But I don't know what for ♪

♪ Got enough for two inside me ♪

♪ And I still want some more ♪

♪ Come on, come on, come on ♪

♪ Come on, come on ♪

Come on, baby.

OK, Misha.

What the fuck?

Listen, Abby,

I have tried to pretend
that everything is OK,

but, Abby,
everything is not OK.

Yeah, I can see that.

Alright. I see them.

And I know I'm really seeing them.

It's brands, Abby. They're alive!

I see how it works!
Don't... Don't... Plea...

Please don't look at me like that.

I am not crazy.

Misha.

And I know who's responsible
for what happened to Veronike.

I know who put her into a coma!
I know who destroyed our lives!

Who?

Fast food!

The fast food corporations
are responsible for all of it!

I can... I can prove it to you.

It was a conspiracy,
a disgusting, cynical conspiracy.

All the noise surrounding
what happened to Veronike

was manufactured to...
alter people's image of beauty.

To make fat, cool.

Cool to be fat.
Cool to eat more hamburgers.

I mean, look what
they've done to people.

Look what they've done to Robert!

What have they done to Robert?

What have they done to him?

Um... OK. OK.

Ηere.

They feed off our desires, OK?

Y-You begin to want something,

and this, big weird creature growing
out of you starts getting bigger.

OK? They make you have desires

that aren't the kind, that
can be completely fulfilled.

They've gotten totally
out of control! I mean,

it's not as if we can have
that many desires anyway

to have them wasted on these...

things!

What's gotten out of control?

Fast food's gotten out of control?

No, what's fast food
got to do with it?

I mean... I mean,
yes, fast food is...

It's all the brands.
It's the whole system.

It-It's an occupation,
a subtle, unnoticeable occupation,

and everyone is just running
around happy. Εveryone's smiling.

That's because
everybody wants to be happy.

A castrated lamb is happy, too, Abby.

Great.

'Cause it doesn't know what it lost.

I mean, we don't even know that
desires can be different anymore.

We have been trained to love shit,
want shit and shit shit.

Trained? Trained by whom?

Lenin.

Marketing was invented by Lenin.

D-Don't you remember any of this?

And now, it's the foundation
of the world economy,

the Great Global Brand
Revolution has won.

We are all still living
in the world Lenin created.

It used to be the brands
were formed from people's desires.

Now it's the people
that are being formed

according to the desires
of the brands.

Fine.

OK.

What are you going to do about it?

I, uh...

I don't... I don't know.

I don't know what I'm gonna do.

Ηey.

I know what you need to do
about all of this.

You need to go see a doctor.

RADIO: This strange and deadly new
disease continues to grip Russia.

10 more fatalities today,

and medical authorities are no
closer to determining its source.

What's causing the outbreak?

GUEST: Well, we at the World Medical
Association are continuing...

Pull over please, Abby.

...to caution everyone, that
while the virus is deadly in 40%...

The disease cannot be
classified as epidemic.

Misha?

Ηey.

Why don't you let me help you?

Let me help you.

Abby. Abby, I didn't mean to...

Abby!

Wait!

Guys?

Robert?

Abby?

ABBY'S VOICΕ: Misha...

all of this is too hard and
unhealthy for Robert and me.

I'm sorry, but we
can't be together.

We're going on vacation alone.

Please leave the apartment
before our return.

(TV channels changing)

...effects of smog...

- ...9/11 bomber...
- ...wide-scale...

- ...the virus has gone too...
- ...purists...

16 medical authorities signed
the letter to the President.

The letter labels the outbreak
of the new disease a pandemic

far more dangerous than bird flu.

[Pavel's message]
- Hello, Misha.

I have a job for you.

A Chinese fast-food chain.
Call me.

TV:
...of the late 20th century

and the early 21st,
had clear sources.

When HIV-AIDS appeared, people
quickly learned what to do

and what not to do, to avoid
contracting the deadly virus.

The origin of the new disease
is still unknown,

and, to date,
there is no effective cure

on the horizon.

Robert Blather,
ΚLN News, reporting.

[Vegetarian]

Distinguished leaders
of restaurant chain Dim Song...

it is my great pleasure
to introduce you

to a true legend
in the world of marketing,

Mikhail Galkin.

So, gentlemen...

you wish to introduce
a chain of vegetarian restaurants

into the Russian market.

I've analyzed the results
of the focus group,

and, frankly, I must say
you have a problem.

Russians just don't like your product.

Marketing in its traditional form
is simply powerless here.

Thank you for your very interesting
opinion, Mr. Galkin.

I do, however, have a proposal,

something which exceeds the limits
of marketing in its traditional form.

But first, let me ask you a question.

Ηow far are you willing to go
to solve your problem?

We are ready for anything,

anything within the law, of course.

I'm afraid that's not going to be
far enough, gentlemen.

We are ready to go far enough.

Fine.

Then I would like you
to mass-produce and market

a little apparatus for testing beef.

A beef tester, for short.

What?

A beef tester.

What?

FRENCH:
♪ I often think of you, ma belle ♪

♪ I think your smile
is the only smile ♪

♪ Ma belle, ma belle ♪

♪ Let's regret our love ♪

RUSSIAN:
That is not a smile.

It is the silent scream
a person who ...

has unknowingly eaten
meat contaminated ...

with mad cow disease.

Kyoma Corp's "Beef Testers",

are their only protection
against its fatal bite.

♪ La, la-la, pum-pum, paa...

Aah!

Yeah, it's good.
And just add some graphics

that say, "Test your beef,
or taste your death."

Ηi, guys.

TV: Despite the beef tester
campaign's insinuation,

only 12% of Russians polled

believe there is a link
between mad cow disease

and the deadly new virus

that has to date claimed
over 500 lives.

In response, the Russian Minister
of Food and Agriculture

consumed a hamburger live on TV
today during a press conference

in which he announced
a nationwide ban on the campaign.

As a result,
restaurant chain Dim Song

has reported record losses
for last quarter.

You tell Mr. Min Tao

banning the beef tester campaign
was part of the plan.

You tell him that now is the time
to open and advertise his restaurants,

a lot of restaurants.

And tell him that I would suggest not
limiting his campaign to Russia alone.

What?

ANNOUNCER:
Following the government's ban

on the advertising campaign
for beef testers

and the sudden,
unexplained death

of the Russian Minister
of Food and Agriculture,

consumers are now
completely convinced

that beef is deadly dangerous.

RUS
When I say "hamburger"...

what comes to mind?
Flavor? Hunger?

- Death.
- Hamburger?... Death.

Meanwhile,
over the last three days,

32 vegetarian restaurants
opened in Moscow alone,

where one can eat without having
to test every slice of beef.

Whether this newfound love
of all things vegetable will stick,

only time can tell.

From the streets of Moscow, Russia,

this is Diana Κruger,
Business Channel News.

RUS: Holy shit ...

It worked.

Abby, it's me.

Εverything's changed now.

Sorry I was sick, but now I'm OK.

I know it sounded crazy
when I told you

that fast food was to blame
for everything,

but look, if in a week

or if in two weeks
The Burger goes bankrupt,

then I'm not crazy,
and you'll answer my call.

Ladies and gentlemen,
I understand your despair.

Believe me, I do,

but unfortunately,

I have practically nothing
to cheer you up with,

but perhaps...

Oh. Looks like a storm is coming.

Wait. What were you gonna say?

I don't want to get
your hopes too high...

HOST:
We're joined today in the studio

by economic analyst Mark Short.

Now, I want to ask you the same thing

that must be on the minds
of many of our viewers out there.

Fine, people have stopped
eating beef for the moment,

but why is that having
such a big effect

on these massive
fast-food corporations?

What, you're telling me they
don't have billions saved up?

SHORT: That's exactly right.

You have to understand
that their hard costs alone

for a week of operations
are in the hundreds of millions.

Now you'll remember...

Mommy, are hamburgers
bad in America, too?

Ah, come on.

Come on, Abby.
Pick it up.

Come on.
Pick up the phone.

Abby, pick up the phone.

SHORT:
It's very unlikely consumers

will return to beef
anytime in the near future.

I love you.
Pick up the phone.

HOST: ...demanded
a government bailout.

Do you think that's
likely to happen?

SHORT: There's really no chance
of a government bailout.

Well, do you think the
fast-food industry can survive?

Well, depends on what kind
of food they choose to serve.

PHONE:
You've reached Abby and Robert.

Leave us a message, and
we'll call you right back.

SHORT: When the threat came
only from the Russian market,

they could withstand it,

but now that the beef
scare's gone global,

the end comes for them
rather quickly.

HOST: Well, I never thought
I would live to see the day.

Misha, they're waiting for you. [RU]

(overlapping radio chatter)

Korean Cell
has joined the conference.

CΕO of Obbidas
has joined the conference.

CΕO of Johnny Vodka
has joined the conference.

President of Yepple
has joined the conference.

The leader
has joined the conference.

Ladies and gentlemen...

The Burger is dead.

The growth of brands
has spiraled out of control.

Never before in history has it been
this difficult to record growth,

because there simply is not enough
room in the minds of consumers

to hold new desires for new products.

What happened
in the case of fast food

has fundamentally altered
the market forever.

A crippling anxiety
has seized consumers.

They're terrified
the products can hurt them.

A unique opportunity
now stands before you.

The time has come

to clear a free space
in the minds of consumers

where your products can live on.

Today, in order to get consumers
to continue to desire computers,

you have to first make them
lose interest in cellphones.

What you need is to convince them

that the competition's brands
are deadly dangerous.

Destroy the market for cellphones...

and eradicate the competition.

For your brands to grow,

they need to learn how to attack.

And I know how to teach
your brands to attack.

NARRATOR: 12 months after the
release of Misha's rumor campaign,

every remaining corporation in the
world was using his new technology.

And so began a total brand war,

everyone for himself.

TV: Step by step.[RU]

Our diapers keep your
baby's skin dry ...

and not only that.

When your baby grows up...

nothing will distract him
from his homework.

Because he'll be ...

... impotent.

Dry 'n Sterile Diapers.

[Los Angeles]
[one month later]

Well, Jon...

thank you so much
for taking us to the concert.

We had such a lovely time.

My pleasure.

Right, Robert?

ANNOUNCER: The popular outcry
against advertising

continues to be felt
across the globe.

To be an advertiser today
has become more dangerous

than to admit being
a homosexual in the 1950s.

Nowhere has this been harder
felt than in Moscow, Russia.

The Duma recently
voted down legislation...

Look, it's Daddy!

...proposing a universal ban
on all advertising.

As last week's bombing
of Red Square

by extremists demonstrates,

many in the public strongly
disagree with this decision.

- Misha.
- And here is one of the leaders

of Russian advertising,
Mikhail Galkin. Mikhail?

Mikhail?
One question please?

The final word on whether
the Russian government

will ban advertising is in
the hands of the President.

What's he going to do?

I'm sure the President
will make the right decision.

PHONE: You've reached Abby
and Robert in Moscow.

Please leave us a message
after the tone.

MISHA: Ηi, Abby.

I'm calling to say goodbye.

I've tried everything.

I even met with the President,

but he wouldn't listen.

You've been right all along.

What I really needed to do
was see a doctor.

20 years ago,
I wanted to get rich,

and that ended with the death
of an innocent man.

10 years ago,
I wanted to get really rich,

and that ended
with Veronike in a coma.

Now I decided to make
the world a better place

and instead
I just made things worse.

Why was I so sure the government
would ban advertising?

They will never ban advertising.

I must have been obsessed.

And now it's like I've come
to my senses, and...

and there's bl...

blood everywhere...

and it's all my fault, my...

my insanity.

I wish...

I wi...

Oh, fuck it.

W-What's going on?

I'm calling you.

OK.

No more lies!
No more lies! [RU]

Come on. Come on!

Go! Get inside!

Don't work here! [RU]

(gunfire)

The President's speaking. [RU]

to ensure safety
and stability

in our nation
and worldwide

this government has
formed alliance with

146 other nations prepared
to impose a universal ban

on all advertising of
products and services...

[Veronike's Hospital Room]

(beep beep)

ROBERT: Grr!

MISHA: Grr!

MISHA: You are on, young man!

- Grr!
- Grr!

Blblbl...

Naaa...

NARRATOR:
And a new era began.

(♪)

(♪)