Former wrestling champion Kakhi (Levan Tedaishvili) travels from Tbilisi to Brighton Beach where his son (Giorgi Tabidze) lives, hoping to help him clear his gambling debts. The director, who was born in Tbilisi but also studied in New York, brings a lot of authenticity to his unsurprising but humane portrait of immigrants from former Soviet nations who come to Brighton Beach and in many cases never leave. Far from a black-and-white struggle for survival, the film gets a shot in the arm from Tedaishvili’s presence as a father willing to sacrifice for his son; he’s a real-life former Olympic wrestling champion.

2021-Georgia-U.S.-Russia-Bulgaria-Monaco. 96 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Levan Koguashvili. Cast: Levan Tedaishvili (Kakhi), Giorgi Tabidze (Soso), Nadezhda Mikhalkova (Lena), Kakhi Kavsadze, Laura Rekhviashvili.