MOSCOW, June 1, Pavel Surkov. Anora, a film by American director Sean Baker, received the Palme d'Or at Cannes. This romantic, slightly naive comedy, starring Yuri Borisov and Mark Eidelstein, has been compared to the legendary “Pretty Woman” with Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. Why the jury of one of the most prestigious film festivals gave the main prize to another story about Cinderella with Russian actors — in the material.
What bribed the jury
The childish son of a Russian oligarch Ivan falls in love with an American stripper Anora (or simply Eni). The couple quickly finds a common language, and in the most literal sense — Ani’s grandmother was born in the USSR and taught her granddaughter Russian. Vanya is so fascinated by the girl that he immediately proposes to her and instead of the three-carat diamond required by the young lady, he gives her a four-carat one. But the guy's parents are not very happy about all this. And they fly to New York to resolve, as usual among Russian criminal circles, pressing issues.
The film seems unprincipled and frivolous. The jokes are predictable. There is no rose-colored happy ending — the mood of the picture is rather melancholic. And it seems that this is precisely what won over the Cannes jury, headed by Greta Gerwig, the creator of “Barbie” and a great specialist in working with modern cliches. Passions around “Anora” began to boil in earnest — primarily because of the Russian actors in the leading roles. Here are Mark Eidelstein (Vanya), and Daria Ekamasova with Alexei Serebryakov (oligarch parents), and the ubiquitous Yura Borisov — it seems that not a single fashion project can do without him. This time he reincarnated as a young man named Igor, a kind of servant under the all-powerful master, who must bring some sense into the presumptuous stripper. 
Against the background of cancel culture and boycott of Russia, such a number of Russians in an American film seems strange. But this is understandable. The director has not been involved in any near-political scandals, and all these artists have long become “citizens of the world”, actively acting in foreign films.
What is the film about
Baker builds the film as a commedia dell'arte — with masks endowed with stereotypical features. Don't expect depth from Anora, there isn't any here. This is another attempt to demonstrate the old truth: the rich, as a rule, are people of low and unstable moral character, but the poor are all right with this. 
Of course, the director reveals first one character or another, otherwise the spectacle would turn out to be completely moralizing and boring. However, the no less boring and banal myth about the all-powerful Russian oligarchs, who believe that everything in the world can be bought and sold, continues to live here. Baker seems to be returning to Hollywood 30 years ago, when no one could escape the Russian mafia and its representatives turned from real prototypes into a cultural archetype.
In the struggle between the nouveau riche and the gopnik from the streets of New York in «Anora», the gopnik wins again — it was necessary to show that wealth does not always fit in with virtue. But the fact that the viewer has to share the Gopnik’s point of view does not bother the director too much.
Magnificent Russians
The chaotic nature of the scenario is discouraging. Some characters are clearly lost due to the lack of on-screen motivation. Like the same Igor, the hero of Borisov. His role looks unwritten — so the actor plays himself.
In fact, “Anora” is based on the chemistry and organic nature of the artists. The duet of Eidelstein and Mikey Madison (Ani) is perfect. Serebryakov and Ekamasova also complement each other perfectly. Well, Yura Borisov is good in his own right. Is this enough for a prize at one of the world's main festivals? Apparently yes. Maybe the viewer is tired of unnecessary speculation, endless and unfounded symbolism? Sometimes you just want to see an ordinary clichéd, non-committal vignette. And, as they said in another famous film: “Are you gangsters? No, we are Russians!”