So John (Chaplin) takes the plunge and orders a Russian mail-order bride over the internet. Enter enigmatic Nadia (Kidman) off an Aeroflot flight. She can't speak English and smokes like a chimney - but agrees to join in with John's penchant for bondage (well, he is a lonely teller).
All appears to be going swimmingly: John's regular sexual bouts with the obliging Nadia awaken a latent passion in him, while his home in a St Albans cul-de-sac gives her the security to get on with her knitting.
The odd couple get closer and Nadia's birthday sees them gazing wonderingly into each other's eyes... until her Russian 'cousins' Alexei (Cassel) and Yuri (Kassovitz) arrive on the front doorstep. Armed with a bottle of vodka and a greasy lump of sausage, the pair make themselves at home with the clearly troubled John and drunkenly toast the birthday girl.
However, when John asks them to leave things take a darker turn, with the hot-headed Alexei exerting his brute force as John is thrown into a situation worlds away from that of a mild-mannered bank clerk. Forced into robbing his own branch to save Nadia's life, he discovers that everyone has a few surprises up their sleeve, including himself.
Director Jez Butterworth has fashioned a low-key but impressive romantic comedy, which touches on darker places when things look like they could be getting too comfy.
Kidman is excellent as the Garbo-esque beauty who is not what she seems, while Chaplin convinces as the easygoing white-collar worker whose life is blown out of the water.
French actors Cassel and Kassovitz seem to thoroughly relish their roles as the rough diamond Russians, who like to discuss the dynamics of Cats when they are not up to something less savoury.
However, the biggest laughs do not come from the big stars but the wealth of British comedy actors who inhabit the smaller roles. Sally Phillips as a New Age stress counsellor and Xander Armstrong (of Armstrong & Miller fame) as the go-ahead banking boss make sure every word counts in their small but nicely written parts.
It's a small movie which punches well above its weight thanks to the likeable leads and a script which sparkles with acid one-liners.
"You can't hurt me more than I'm hurt already," cries Nadia, to which John replies: "If it's all the same to you, I'd like to give it a bash".
Tim Evans
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