Silk Road: Serbian actor to play villain in Russian-Chinese action movie
A storm on a Japanese passenger liner and a giant German Zeppelin looming over China: the sequel to the detective action "Red Silk" is in the midst of filming. In the new part, the stakes are rising, even the name itself, now "Silk" has turned black, hints that the clouds are gathering. The scenery, which has never been equaled in Russian cinema, was erected in Moscow. They have already been evaluated in action by Olga Lyubimova, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, Svetlana Balanova, Director General of NMG, as well as Izvestia correspondents. About this, as well as about the new bright characters of the franchise, in our report from the shooting pavilion.
"I'm often offered the roles of good guys, but here it's different"
The cliffs of the Chinese gorge are outside the window. A huge Graf Zeppelin airship floats above them. It's the 1930s. A record from Ich singe nur fur dich ("Singing in the rain") from 1929 creaks in the gramophone, there is a German Motor magazine on the shelf, expensive vintage crystal, rare wines and collectible cognac in the bar, which you will not find today. The passengers, gentlemen in elegant suits, were sitting on leather sofas. Are they who they say they are?
At this moment, the Japanese consul, Mr. Murai, and the arms dealer Hermann Bauer are talking about something in one of the cabins. In the role of the latter, Serbian actor Aleksandar Radojicic joined the team, known to our audience for another film directed by Andrei Volgin's silk franchise, the military drama The Balkan Frontier.
— I am often offered the roles of good guys because of my appearance. It's different here, and I'm glad I'm playing the antagonist. In addition, my character speaks several languages — German, French, English, Japanese, which makes it possible to be even further from himself. At the same time, each artist is a lawyer for his character, and I'm interested in finding the answer to the question of why he acts like this," Radojicic says in a short break between takes in the airship.
This is the first look at the impressive decoration that was erected in the pavilion in Moscow. It had not been shown to journalists before. Being inside, you experience a natural feeling of flying and even shaking, and on a physical level, although the airship itself is not moving. The landscapes outside the windows, which naturally change for flight, are responsible for deceiving the senses. The image was displayed on a huge LED screen around the Zeppelin, which replaces the chromakey and allows you to achieve high realism at the time of filming.
— The largest set-up of screens in Russia has been built for the Zeppelin block: 70 by 7 m. It looks impressive! — Yuri Yarushnikov, CEO of the XOVP virtual production studio, shows Izvestia. — We call him Tsar-pashka among ourselves, because he is assembled with the letter "P." This has never been done before, I think, even in the world.
"Any continuation is an increase in the stakes"
But the scenery in the neighboring pavilion — another pride of the "Black Silk" — can just boast of how it literally shakes. This is a life-size prototype of a Japanese passenger liner. He stands on a ship, a multi—ton movable structure that allows him to simulate the heaviest pitching, as during a storm. The journalists were allowed to experience this effect for themselves: we went up on deck, and the specialists started the mechanism, for good reason, which we immediately had to make sure by recommending holding on to the railing. The boats on the chains were dangling in the process so that it seemed they were about to fly off.
— There is a completely unique design behind our back. And we understand that literally ten years ago in Russian cinema it was difficult to imagine such a level of work of all the workshops when we work together with our Chinese colleagues," said Olga Lyubimova, Minister of Culture of Russia, who was also at the site that day and saw with her own eyes the work of the project team.
According to the plot of the upcoming film, this liner is heading to Shanghai — the "Asian New York" of that time, where neon signs are full of colors and night alleys keep their secrets. Agents from several countries are secretly operating among the passengers. Everyone is interested in a certain "Black Silk". Whether it's a weapon or documents, no one knows.
The heat reaches its limit when a storm hits the ship. In the first footage, which was exclusively shown to the guests of the set, deadly streams of water are blowing out windows and knocking people off their feet. To shoot this epic scene, the ship's hull was equipped with a spillway system, so that the elements on the screen would be real, and not the result of graphics.
— Any continuation is an increase in the stakes. In everything, both from the point of view of drama and from the point of view of visual solutions," explains the ambitious scope of director Andrei Volgin.
The bet is also on the cast. "Black Silk" in the spirit of "Red" will give the audience not only an exciting action, but also a whole bunch of bright characters. Richard Sorge, played by Maxim Matveev, comes into play. During the lunch break, the actor finds a few minutes for journalists already in character.
— For me, Sorge in this story is interesting because we see him almost at the beginning of the journey, — says the actor. — I can't say that he is close to me in terms of temperament, because he is an extrovert — he is described as an active person whose temperament fills everything around him, he impresses both women and his partners, with whom he builds a spy network. But personally, I am touched by his serious traumatic past. Thanks to this experience, certain ideals were completely erased from him and, in my opinion, the purest desire for peacefulness was formed.
Sorge will be accompanied by a French journalist. His charismatic image belongs to Sergey Annenkov.
— I'm a young, slightly vain guy who wants to be different. There are all the other journalists, and there is me — I feel a little higher. It's this kind of French arrogance that moves me towards my goal. I want to catch a big fish, in particular, to photograph Chaliapin, but I find myself unwittingly witnessing other events," the actor shares, meanwhile demonstrating his French skills, which he refreshed especially for the film.
The flight is international
The project team is still international. Hiroyuki Mori, who plays the role of the Japanese consul in order to prepare for filming, lived in his homeland for a month according to Moscow time.
— We have a six-hour difference, and I did it to reconfigure my body. I'm an owl, and it was quite difficult for me," the actor says with a smile.
In the second part, Milos Bikovic, Gleb Kalyuzhny and the main decoration of the franchise return to their roles — Chinese actress Zheng Hanyi as Wang Lin, but in a completely different way.
— Wang Lin has undergone a noticeable character evolution. In "Red Silk" she is more trusting, a little vulnerable, although strong inside. But now she has become more mature, more restrained, stronger in spirit. She has learned to hide her emotions, but she has not lost her gentleness and humanity," says Zheng Hanyi, who has noticeably improved her Russian and only occasionally pauses to find words.
After shooting her first film, which opened her way to the cinema, Hanyi admitted that the scariest moment was jumping off a cliff. There are other challenges in the new part. Here she will have a dance scene with Maxim Matveev.
— It's very difficult to master tango, memorize the text in Russian, and also master the fighting skills for action scenes! But Maxim Matveev and I have worked well together. We understand each other. We trained a lot," the actress recalls.
"Red Silk" was a success at the box office in Russia and China. The plans for the continuation of the story are to multiply it.
"Red Silk was the highest—grossing film in its genre in Russia, it was the highest—grossing Russian film abroad in 2025, of course, with Black Silk we set goals to break records," Svetlana Balanova, CEO of the National Media Group, emphasized at the venue.
The team continues the Silk Road. Ahead is an expedition to China, where part of the filming will also take place. The premiere of the film is scheduled for March 31, 2027.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
