Arka Mukhopadhyay
‘Major Grom: Plague Doctor’ is a Russian original action thriller film directed by Oleg Trofim and based on the comic book series of the same name by Bubble Comics. The feature film, which is the first of its kind to be based on an original Russian comic series, is a sequel of the 2017 short film ‘Major Grom,’ where larger-than-life inspector Igor Grom fights a group of masked bank robbers from Soviet-era comic ‘Puck! Puck!’ The story of the feature film begins in the final act of Grom chasing the group of bank robbers. Grom’s methods are questionable, and he is almost detained, but his amicable relationship with his paternal boss Fyodor Prokopenko saves him.
After getting back on the force, he finds himself in the middle of civil unrest when a masked vigilante called the Plague Doctor takes it upon himself to deliver justice by killing off influential bourgeoisie and oligarchs of the city. Thus begins a fast-paced tale populated with characters and filled with twists and turns. The comic essence of the story is retained, and actor Tikhon Zhiznevskiy does justice to the titular character with his eccentric performance. The ending of the story leaves several questions in its wake, and if you are busy tying loose ends, let us help you out. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Major Grom: Plague Doctor Plot Synopsis
In the prologue, legendary police detective Igor Grom is busy running after a group of masked robbers. The ending of the chase is an amusing spectacle, as the Head of the St. Petersburg Police force, Feydor Prokopenko, makes a speech about the decline of crime in the city when the robbers’ van unsettles the interviewers. Grom is pleased to have caught the goons, but as he has caused damage to public property, Prokopenko is infuriated.
Grom presents a resignation letter and bursts out of the door, but he is effective, and Prokopenko is compelled to give him his badge back. Igor is almost an outlaw in his own department, but he is driven by his relentless pursuit for justice. After getting back on duty, he goes to the court to attend the hearing of Kirill Grechkin, an affluent stud who is accused of killing a girl named Lisa.
Lisa’s brother Lyosha gives a heart-rending statement, but that is not enough to hold back Grechkin. Justice is not delivered, and Grechkin gets away scot-free. On the other side of the story, Sergei Razumovskiy, the billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist, prepares himself for a presentation of the new update of his revolutionary social media app Vmeste. When Sergei gets the news of Grechkin’s acquittal, he leaves the presentation unsettled.
In context, the orphanage that sheltered Lisa and her brother is owned by Razumovskiy. Shortly after, the masked vigilante of the Plague Doctor descends on the city to settle scores and deliver justice. His series of murders mobilize rioters, and in no time, the city goes up in flames. The arrival of smiley-face officer Evgeniy Sterlkov thwarts Grom off the mission, but with a little help from his friends, he finally manages to capture the ghoul.
Major Grom Plague Doctor Ending: Who is the Plague Doctor?
After the arrival of Strelkov, Grom finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place. Not intimidated by the Moscow officer, Grom continues to pursue the case of the Plague Doctor. In the meantime, the Plague Doctor adds two more kills in his bag – Olga Isaeva, a bank owner, and Filipp Zilchenko, the owner of the landfill. As the vigilante posts videos of the killings on Vmeste, the general public thinks of him as some sort of a hero, which complicates the situation even more. After being informed by his ever-enthusiastic sidekick Dima, Grom deduces that the next target of the Plague Doctor would be the newly inaugurated Golden Dragon Casino.
The who’s who of the city would be present at the inauguration ceremony, which makes it a prime target for the vigilante. In the casino, he sees no sign of the Plague Doctor, although guerilla blogger-reporter Yulia Pchelkina gives him a useful piece of information. While the first meeting of Grom with Yulia was not exactly on friendly terms, sparks seem to fly between them. When Grom says that the city needs a real hero like Razumovskiy, Yulia tells him about Razumovskiy’s covert deal with HOLT International, one of the largest weapon manufacturers in the world.
In the meantime, rioters get a hold of the venue, and the smiley-face Moscow detective arrives at the last minute to get the credits. In consequence, Grom is fired from the department, and but he is not the kind of person to give up. He goes to the orphanage owned by Razumovskiy, where the entrepreneur was himself brought up. Grom finds drawings of the plague doctor in Razumovskiy’s childhood notebook. From the beginning, we assume that Razumovskiy’s childhood friend Oleg Volkov is the masked vigilante. But the film adds an element of surprise when we find out that Oleg has died in the war in Syria. Adding two and two, the detective rightly deduces that Razumovskiy is the righteous killer.
Is Razumovskiy Captured? Why Are There Two of Them?
In the epilogue, we see that Razumovskiy is held captive in an asylum for the criminally insane. The diabolical persona creeps on him while promising him that they would soon get released. The billionaire founder of the social media platform Vmeste, Razumovskiy is shown to be an eccentric and intelligent individual. As the Plague Doctor, he often goes against the law, but in his own opinion, one has to rise above the law to cure the city of its rottenness and corruption. Therefore, he is initially guided by a sense of righteousness, but as the situation goes out of hand with people siding with the Plague Doctor, he becomes more and more delusional.
From the first encounter, we see Oleg Volkov by his side, only to know later that he died in army service. Therefore, the version of Oleg that we see is a mental projection by Razumovskiy himself. In many aspects, Oleg is an alter ego to Razumovskiy’s meek pacifist. But when Grom tells him about the death of Oleg, Razumovskiy cannot conceal his menacing self anymore. He chooses to reveal his other persona. The two personas of Razumovskiy condition the polarities of the self, and like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Razumovskiy becomes a different person when he wears the suit of the Plague Doctor.
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