Mute Witness

Billy, a mute special effects makeup artist, returns to the Moscow studio to fetch gear and is locked inside. She communicates with Karen in morse code and discovers an after-hours porn shoot being filmed. When Arkadi stabs the actress, Billy flees through the studio, pursued by Lyosha, and crashes through a window. Karen arrives and finds Billy injured with Lyosha looming.

Police arrive at the studio and question Lyosha about the incident. They conclude that Billy witnessed an elaborate special effects sequence, and they cannot locate a body. The lack of a body leaves the case looking like a staged accident.

Billy leads police to an elevator shaft, convinced Lyosha hid the corpse there. The shaft is empty, fueling investigators' skepticism about what really happened. The discrepancy between witness and evidence deepens the mystery.

A night watchman discovers the actress's corpse burning in a basement incinerator. Arkadi stabs the watchman, killing him and eliminating a potential witness. The grim scene heightens the sense of a wider criminal operation lurking behind the film.

An elderly man arrives in a vintage car and asks Lyosha if things 'went smoothly,' signaling the Reaper's looming involvement. The exchange hints at a larger conspiracy behind the film. The tension escalates as the Reaper's presence becomes more real.

Detective Aleksander Larsen begins investigating Billy's claim, probing rumors of an international snuff-film ring. The operation is led by the wealthy financier known as the Reaper. The investigation places Billy at the center of a dangerous conspiracy.

Back at Billy's apartment, Billy communicates with Karen using a dictation device. Arkadi crashes in, followed by Lyosha, leading to a violent struggle. Billy uses a hairdryer to electrocute Arkadi in the bathtub, and Lyosha incapacitates her before Larsen intervenes.

Larsen escorts Billy away and explains that the crime ring is targeting her because she has a computer disc with confidential information. He tries to protect her as they flee.

Karen and Andy arrive at Billy's apartment to find it in disarray; Lyosha is awakened and fights them. Two of the Reaper's thugs posing as policemen shoot Lyosha and question Karen and Andy about the computer disc.

Billy guides Larsen to the film studio where a chaotic confrontation erupts with the Reaper's operatives. Larsen shoots Billy, who appears dead, and the Reaper departs with the disc.

Karen realizes Billy is alive when she finds remote-controlled squib blood packs hidden under Billy's clothes. Larsen's fake-murder plan was designed to divert the Reaper and spare Billy's life.

Before daybreak, Larsen plans to meet Billy again and brings along a bound security guard. The car they're in is rigged with a bomb, and the disk would be destroyed by the blast; Larsen escapes seconds before the explosion.