Joel Lubin, Motion Picture Group
Subject: Project for Consideration: An Epic Crime Drama Featuring a Role for Tom Cruise
A Dostoevskian Crime Epic
Dear Mr. Lubin,
My name is Sergey Strakhov. I am the great-great-grandson of Nikolai Nikolaevich Strakhov — one of the closest friends of Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky, and the groom’s witness at Dostoevsky’s wedding. I continue the tradition of Russian psychological tragedy in the form of contemporary cinema. In 2025, I became a nominee of the World Film Festival in Cannes.
I am reaching out with the project “Odessa. New York. Kyiv. A Criminal Rhapsody” — an epic crime melodrama based on a true story told to me by an Odessa–New York gangster who spent eight years in an American prison. The material has been translated into English. The screenplay’s copyright is officially registered with the Library of Congress.
This is a large‑scale crime saga that can be described with the formula: “Dostoevsky meets Michael Mann.” The story blends a tragic love line, a gangster drama, political intrigue, and moral collapse. In structure and ambition, the project is close to The Godfather and major prestige crime dramas.
The film is filled with high‑tension sequences in which the Magadan gang executes large criminal operations — from street confrontations to international schemes. The story includes fights, explosions, and shootouts, including one set piece comparable in dramatic and visual scope to the iconic shootout in Michael Mann’s Heat. This is not imitation but an authorial response — a scene that can become one of the defining moments of the genre.
The screenplay features a character named Yaguzhinsky — a police colonel and the central antagonist. His arc will be adapted and expanded specifically for Tom Cruise to create a deep, multilayered dramatic role at the level of Oscar consideration. He is not a caricature villain but a tragic figure consumed by jealousy, power, and inner darkness. This role would stand among Cruise’s strongest dramatic performances — in the tradition of Collateral, Magnolia, and Born on the Fourth of July.
The project does not require a large budget: part of the production can be moved to Ukraine, significantly reducing costs for locations, crowd scenes, and technical resources. By the time production begins, the war will have ended. This is not speculation but an analytical conclusion: the political dynamics are moving toward the resolution of the conflict, and production conditions in the region will only improve.
I am seeking a producer and partner to establish a joint venture in which net profits will be shared among the key participants.
If the material seems relevant to you, I am ready to provide the screenplay and the full package for consideration.
Sincerely, Sergey Strakhov
WILL YOU GO TO THE MOVIES IF I MANAGE TO CLASH THESE TWO CHARACTERS ON SCREEN?
**THE LEGEND OF THE PROJEC “ODESSA. NEW YORK. KIEV. A CRIMINAL RHAPSODY”
“A 21st‑century crime melodrama created by the heir to the Russian tragic tradition.”
AUTHOR POSITIONING
Sergey Shrakhov is the heir to the Russian literary tradition, a descendant of Dostoevsky’s and Tolstoy’s closest friends, creating a modern tragedy in a cinematic form.
“If a person is connected to Dostoevsky — he carries a cultural code.” “If he writes a criminal tragedy — it’s not a genre, it’s a legacy.” “If he lives in the United States — he is a bridge between cultures.”
MARKETING NARRATIVE
“A story of love, crime, and the disintegration of the self, written in the spirit of Dostoevsky but set in the real criminal world of the post‑Soviet era.”
“prestige crime drama” “moral collapse” “tragic love story” “Shakespeare meets Scorsese” “Dostoevsky meets Michael Mann”
“This film is a modern version of Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, but set in the real criminal world of Ukraine and New York.”
THE TOM CRUISE FACTOR
The role of Yaguzhinsky is Oscar‑level material if adapted for a Western audience.
“This is a role Tom Cruise could play: a man torn between duty, love, and destruction.”
If this project reached Tom Cruise — what would happen?
Honestly: ✅ He wouldn’t brush it off. ✅ He would read it. ✅ He would think about it. ✅ He would see the role. ✅ He would see the film.
Why? Because: — Yaguzhinsky is his type, only deeper — the story is a tragedy, and he loves tragedies — the project is low‑budget — the material is strong — the characters are layered — the conflict is powerful — the ending is cinematic
And most importantly: ✅ Cruise loves roles where the hero is destroyed. Think Collateral, Magnolia, Born on the Fourth of July. This project fits perfectly into his favorite niche.
FOR THE PRESS
“The author is the heir to Dostoevsky’s literary tradition. The film is a modern tragedy about love and crime. The story is a bridge between Russian classics and contemporary cinema.”
It’s easy to write about, it sounds elegant, it creates cultural context, it turns the film into an “event.”
FOR FESTIVALS
“A film that combines Russian psychological depth with Western cinematic dynamism.”
Tragedies, moral conflicts, strong female roles, crime stories with philosophical undertones.
FOR THE AUDIENCE
“A love story that couldn’t survive in a world where every step is paid for in blood.”
This is the emotional hook. This is what the audience understands instantly.
THE ROLE OF DANIIL STRAKHOV
“Strakhov is the face of the Russian classical school. He strengthens the film’s connection to Dostoevsky’s legacy.”
He is: — handsome — charismatic — recognizable — carrying an “aristocratic” type — perfectly aligned with the legend
He is a visual bridge between the classics and modernity. Daniil Strakhov is the ideal bridge actor.
Strakhov is: — a face Western viewers perceive as “Russian aristocratic beauty” — an actor with depth — someone who can play evil, love, and tragedy — a visual link between Russian classics and contemporary cinema
He fits perfectly into the concept: “The author is the heir to Dostoevsky. The actor is the face of the Russian classical school. The film is a modern criminal tragedy.”
This is a brand, not just casting.
SERGEY STRAKHOV
“Sergey Strakhov is an author who carries the Russian tragic tradition by birthright and transforms it into modern cinema.”
ONE‑LINE VERSION (MAIN TAGLINE)
“A film created by the heir to the Russian tragic tradition. A story of love, crime, and the collapse of identity — in the spirit of Dostoevsky but set in the real criminal world.”