Joe Serio, former CIA agent and Russian mafia investigator, rates Russian mob scenes in movies and TV, such as “John Wick,” for realism.
Serio breaks down common tropes about the Russian mafia, such as the role of hitmen in “John Wick” (2014), starring Keanu Reeves; the relationship between the Russian mafia and the Italian Mafia in “The Sopranos” S3E4 + S310 + S3E11 (2001), starring James Gandolfini and Michael Imperioli; and the portrayal of other organized crime groups originating from the former Soviet Union, such as the Chechen mafia, in “Barry” S1E1 + S2E1 + S3E5 (2018-2022), starring Bill Hader. He explains the culture of the Russian mafia groups, such their origins from Russian prisons and the importance of tattoos in “Eastern Promises,” starring Viggo Mortensen; the presence of Russian mafia groups in the United States in “Lord of War,” with Nicolas Cage; and their global reach and influence as depicted in “Our Kind of Traitor,” starring Ewan McGregor — where Serio connects real-life mob bosses, such as Semion Mogilevich and Otari Kvantrishvili. He also discusses the criminal activities of Russian mafia groups, such as human trafficking in “The Equalizer,” starring Denzel Washington; and “The Boys” S3E4 (2022); the concept of a common fund in “Nobody”; and their operations in Russia in “Брат” (“Brother”) (1997) and GoldenEye, starring Pierce Brosnan.
Serio lived in the former Soviet Union and present-day Russia for nearly 10 years. He was the only American to work in the Organized Crime Control Department of the Soviet national police. Eventually, he worked as a security consultant, and later as the Director of Operations, for Kroll Associates — a global corporate investigation and business intelligence firm — where he conducted investigations on Russian mafia groups. He was also a CIA agent for five years in Moscow, where he provided information regarding Russian organized crime. Serio wrote two books focusing on the Russian mafia and his life in Moscow, “Investigating the Russian Mafia” and “Vodka, Hookers, and the Russian Mafia: My Life in Moscow.”
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