The Professional

In the restless streets of early‑2000s Belgrade, a city still reverberating from the shadows of a recent regime, the world of literature and dissent pulses through cafés and university halls. Teodor “Teja” Kraj, a former literature professor turned publishing director, moves within a tight‑knit circle of writers, artists and activists. His verses, raw and bohemian, echo a fierce opposition to the lingering forces of the Milosevic era, and his daily life is a blend of scholarly routine, lingering nostalgia, and the ever‑present undercurrent of political unease.

One ordinary afternoon, the rhythm of his carefully ordered existence is interrupted by the arrival of a stranger bearing a briefcase and an unsettling familiarity. Luka Laban, a man who presents himself as a writer, seems to possess an uncanny knowledge of every trivial and pivotal moment of Teja’s past. The encounter feels less like a chance meeting and more like the opening of a private dossier, prompting Teja to confront a cascade of questions about memory, surveillance, and the hidden threads that bind personal histories to the larger social fabric.

As the conversation unfolds, the film adopts a cerebral, almost tactile atmosphere, where dialogue drips with intellectual sarcasm and the city itself becomes a character—its cracked sidewalks and smoky kafanas reflecting the protagonists’ inner turbulence. The tone straddles the line between sardonic humor and a quiet, mounting tension, inviting the viewer to linger on the nuances of trust, secrecy, and the lingering impact of a turbulent political past. With each whispered revelation, the audience is drawn deeper into a labyrinth of intrigue, awaiting the next piece of the puzzle Teja has never imagined.

Last Updated: October 23, 2025 at 16:15