Joe Serio, former CIA agent and Russian mafia investigator, charges Russian mob scenes in films and TV, similar to “John Wick,” for realism.
Serio breaks down frequent tropes concerning the Russian mafia, such because the position of hitmen in “John Wick” (2014), starring Keanu Reeves; the connection between the Russian mafia and the Italian Mafia in “The Sopranos” S3E4 + S310 + S3E11 (2001), starring James Gandolfini and Michael Imperioli; and the portrayal of different organized crime teams originating from the previous Soviet Union, such because the Chechen mafia, in “Barry” S1E1 + S2E1 + S3E5 (2018-2022), starring Invoice Hader. He explains the tradition of the Russian mafia teams, such their origins from Russian prisons and the significance of tattoos in “Jap Guarantees,” starring Viggo Mortensen; the presence of Russian mafia teams in the US in “Lord of Warfare,” with Nicolas Cage; and their international attain and affect as depicted in “Our Form of Traitor,” starring Ewan McGregor — the place Serio connects real-life mob bosses, similar to Semion Mogilevich and Otari Kvantrishvili. He additionally discusses the prison actions of Russian mafia teams, similar to human trafficking in “The Equalizer,” starring Denzel Washington; and “The Boys” S3E4 (2022); the idea of a typical fund in “No person”; and their operations in Russia in “Брат” (“Brother”) (1997) and GoldenEye, starring Pierce Brosnan.
Serio lived within the former Soviet Union and present-day Russia for almost 10 years. He was the one American to work within the Organized Crime Management Division of the Soviet nationwide police. Finally, he labored as a safety advisor, and later because the Director of Operations, for Kroll Associates — a world company investigation and enterprise intelligence agency — the place he carried out investigations on Russian mafia teams. He was additionally a CIA agent for 5 years in Moscow, the place he offered info concerning Russian organized crime. Serio wrote two books specializing in the Russian mafia and his life in Moscow, “Investigating the Russian Mafia” and “Vodka, Hookers, and the Russian Mafia: My Life in Moscow.”
You possibly can observe Joe right here.
You’ll find his books concerning the Russian mafia right here.
