The film with Jude Law in the role of Vladimir Putin has appeared in cinemas. Who really is the “Wizard” in the Kremlin

“The Wizard of the Kremlin,” the film in which British actor Jude Law portrays Russian President Vladimir Putin during his rise as a global leader, was released in theaters on Friday, May 15, the date of its general premiere in Romania.

The political drama follows the rise of Putin with the help of manipulative strategist Vadim Baranov, played by American actor Paul Dano.

The role of Dano, the “wizard” of the film's title, is inspired by Vladislav Surkov, widely considered the “gray eminence” of Russian politics in the early years of Putin's involvement in politics and in those following his rise to the position of President of Russia.

Much of the talk about the film has centered around the performance of Law, a two-time Academy Award nominee for his performances in “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and “Cold Mountain,” but Dano is listed first in the feature film's cast and plays the lead role.

Apart from the two, Swedish actress Alicia Vikander plays Ksenia, Baranov's beautiful wife, who oscillates between a desire for bohemian freedom and an attraction to wealth and influence. Actors Will Keen, Jeffrey Wright and Tom Sturridge round out the cast.

The film arrived later in cinemas because it was first shown on the festival circuit

The Wizard of the Kremlin is directed by French filmmaker Olivier Assayas and is an adaptation of the 2022 novel La Mage du Kremlin by Italian-Swiss novelist and essayist Giuliano da Empoli.

Given the name of the novel and the fact that the film only recently had a confirmed release date in Romania, it was previously presented under the title “The Magician of the Kremlin” or “The Wizard of the Kremlin”. Vertical Entertainment, the local distributor, eventually chose to translate his title as “The Wizard of the Kremlin”.

The feature film had its international premiere on August 31, 2025, at the prestigious Venice International Film Festival, where it received a 12-minute standing ovation.

Later, it was presented at several film festivals, premiering in cinemas in France only in January of this year. The rights to broadcast it in North America were then awarded by Vertical Entertainment, which chose to release it in Romania simultaneously with the release on the domestic market of Hollywood.

Was The Wizard Of The Kremlin Movie Worth The Wait?

Despite the cast of well-known Hollywood names and the ovation received in Venice, the feature film signed by Olivier Assayas received rather negative reviews from film critics.

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of only 46%. “A film with dry and intelligent humor, but excessively loaded, 'The Wizard of the Kremlin' fails to overcome its shallow characters, slow pace and repetitive story,” notes the description on RT, which provides a brief summary of the experts' opinion.

One of the worst reviews comes from The Wall Street Journal, which notes that “given the seriousness of the subject matter and its enormous potential, 'The Wizard of the Kremlin' is not just a disappointment, but rather something close to an insult.”

“The dramatic film 'The Wizard of the Kremlin' is not the first attempt to capture the glacial mystique of today's 'tsar,' as he is called here, but the choice of actor to play him is a surprisingly counterintuitive one: veteran seductress Jude Law. However, Law does not appear until about halfway through this lopsided two-and-a-quarter hour drama, which makes the odd decision to present the post-Soviet era of Russian history through the eyes of a fictional character, Vadim Baranov,” notes review published by WSJ.

An opposing review instead comes from The New York Times, which notes that “that behind-the-scenes look is 'The Wizard of the Kremlin''s greatest asset, but also its scariest element: the idea that, in an age when truth can be fabricated, the people who fabricate it hold so much of reality in their own hands.”

Opinions are equally divided on IMDb, where regular viewers can also post ratings, with “The Wizard of the Kremlin” having an average score of 6 / 10. But in this case, the number of ratings is still low by IMDb standards, due to the fact that the film only had its general release in theaters today.

The reviews so far belong overwhelmingly to the viewers who were able to see it at the film festivals where the feature film was presented.