The Fourth State

A man exits a Moscow apartment, sensing danger in the basement but choosing to walk away. Moments later, the building detonates in a devastating explosion that establishes a tense, politically charged mood for the story.

Paul Jensen arrives to work for a magazine run by Onjegin, a friend of his late father. He steps into a dangerous media landscape where politics and secrecy threaten to swallow his reporting.

At a street corner, Paul witnesses the brutal assassination of a prominent journalist whose program had unnerved the government. The killing pulls him into a web of suspicion, intrigue, and a fight over who can tell the truth.

Paul partners with Katja, a determined journalist who wants to publish the slain colleague’s story. They decide to reframe the piece for the celebrity section to attract attention while keeping it off the front pages.

That evening, Paul and Katja bond in a bar as their chemistry spills into a reckless, whiskey-fueled moment. Katja reveals that the deceased journalist knew Paul’s father, hinting at deeper connections and unresolved history.

The next day they attend a protest where police intervene. Paul shields Katja as they slip away to his apartment, and their attraction culminates in a shared night.

In the morning after, Katja discovers that Paul published the article without his editor’s sign-off. The revelation strains their partnership as the editor warns Paul to keep his distance, and Dima cautions him about crossing Russian politics.

At a party, Katja distracts him toward a subway entrance, and a catastrophic bombing rips through the station. Paul is knocked unconscious and awakens in a hospital, while authorities claim he carried a backpack for Katja that contained explosives and that Katja died.

Onjegin informs Paul that he will be detained for seven months as the case unfolds. Paul is moved to a notorious prison nicknamed Little Chechnya, where Chechen detainees threaten him and he endures rough treatment.

Aslan, the prison’s calculating leader, saves Paul from mistreatment and shares memories of Paul’s late father, revealing the tangled ties among oil, terrorism, and money. He begins guiding Paul through a brutal new reality and into the fight for survival.

A prison snitch feeds information to the commander, and Paul watches as the other inmates execute the betrayer. Aslan is later taken away and murdered, leaving Paul to navigate the prison’s increasingly dangerous landscape on his own.

Paul signs a contract to be expelled to Germany in exchange for safer treatment, but he bolts from the car and escapes with guards close behind. He disappears into the wider hunt as the authorities intensify their pursuit.

On the run, Paul learns that Katja is alive and had been used by the authorities as bait to trap him. The revelation confirms the depth of manipulation surrounding the case and reframes Katja’s role in the larger scheme.

Paul confronts Onjegin with evidence about his father’s papers, exposing state manipulation at the dawn of Chechnya’s war. Onjegin arranges for Paul to leave Russia using his influence, and Katja parts from him as he departs.

Paul lands in Germany and watches a live broadcast reporting Onjegin’s assassination. The film closes on questions of truth and power, suggesting that silence can be as dangerous as violence.