Moscow Freestyle

For young Westerners, teaching English abroad seems like the perfect opportunity to see the world and find themselves. These fun-loving teachers get a reality check on the streets of Moscow, where they meet greedy policemen, fight with surly locals, and experience Russian nationalism while trying to stay away from terrorist bombings and enjoy the freedom of lawlessness... Their romanticism gets bruised but dies last.

This is a portrait of Russia dealing with Chechen organized terrorist attacks including Beslan School Hostage Crisis.

We meet Gwain Hamilton in Moscow, three years after he becomes an English teacher there. He loves the place, the culture, the language, he even loves the ugly things that can be seen plenty in Moscow. Gwain seems to feel that Moscow could be his home for the rest of his life. This is when, within two short weeks, the unthinkable chain of events takes place.

The Terrorist Attacks, related to the war in Chechnya, shake Moscow and Russia: bombs on buses, suicide-bombing of planes by Chechen terrorists, explosions in the Metro, and the killing of hundreds of children on the first day of school in Beslan shock the Russian society.

Gwain witnesses how within days fear and anger change the mood in the city. The Russian version of freedom turns into the ruthlessness of the authorities, discrimination against non-Russians, intolerance of other nationalities and religions. Even Gwain’s belief, that he is a full member of Russian society, is shattered when he learns that everyone still sees him as a foreigner. He notices that all his true friends are foreigners just like him that pretend Russia is their new home. This is when Gwain takes a serious look at what he is doing in Moscow and grows up.