A man is chased through the streets of Nice, France, ultimately resulting in his death. Alain Moreau (Jean Claude Van Damn) is a cop in Nice, France. A fellow cop Sebastien (Jean-Hugues Anglade) takes him to a murder scene, where the victim is a man who looks exactly like Alain. There is evidence that the victim was being chased and tortured. His name was Mikhail Suverov from NY & was asking directions to Alain's street. Matches found in his pocket point towards a local hotel, where the proprietor mistakes Alain for "Mikhail Suverov" and gives him the phone message "Call Alex Bohemia." In Mikhail's room is a passport with the same birth date as Alain, and a plane ticket to New York. Alain visits his mother Chantal (Stephane Audran), and she confesses that Mikhail was Alain's twin brother, and Chantal had given Mikhail up for adoption. Alain visits the lawyer who handled Mikhail's adoption. The office is in flames & the lawyer is dead. Lawyer's secretary gives Alain the adoption papers for Mikhail. They find the room in flames and a large Russian man attacks Alain. He escapes with the adoption file, which reveals Mikhail was adopted by a Russian family who immigrated to America. Alain takes the passport and plane ticket to New York to investigate his brother's death and learn more about him. Mikhail's adoptive father was a Soviet diplomat who lived in Paris for 5 years before moving to the USA in 1968. Alain goes to NY & meets Morris, a man who knew Mikhail. Morris explains that Mikhail's adoptive family had a grocery store in Little Odessa, a section of Brooklyn that is controlled by the Russian mafia, and that when Mikhail was 16 years old, he had joined the Russian mafia. Morris tells Alain that there is a nightclub in Little Odessa called The Bohemia. At Bohemia, everyone thinks he's Mikhail. Mikhail's fiance, Alex Bartlett (Natasha Hensridge), and she thinks Alain is Mikhail. Alex Bartlett mistakes him for Mikhail and gives him a key to a hotel room. Wary, Alain rents the room across the hall. Alain leaves and is confronted by a group of Russian men led by a thug named Yuri (Dan Moran), who says that Ivan Dzasokhov (Zach Grenier), one of the higher-ups in the Russian mafia, wants to talk to Mikhail. Alain beats up Yuri and his men and is picked up by Davis (Taxi Driver). Davis drops Alain off at a hotel. Alex visits Alain's room. Alain tells Alex that he's not Mikhail, and that Mikhail was murdered. Ivan and two of his men show up. Alain and Alex escape. Davis picks them up, but dies in Alain's arms. Alex tells him Mikhail was her boyfriend and he had a plan to leave the Russian Mafia. They go to Mikhail's home, where Alain finds out Mikhail discovered his existence when he saw an article in the paper about his war exploits. After more Russians come to the house, Alain and Alex flee to her friend's cabin. Alex tells Alain that Ivan won't stop until they are both dead, and that Ivan and his boss, Dmitri Kirov (David Hemblen), who has FBI agents Pellman (Paul Ben-Victor) and Loomis (Frank Senger) in his pocket, are relentless. Mikhail had a list of the FBI associates of Russian mafia in a Paris locker to be opened in 56 hours. The next morning, two FBI agents come to the cabin. They say Mikhail kept evidence against the Russian Mafia that he intended to turn over to them, wanting to reform. They want Alain to pose as Mikhail to access his safe deposit box back in Nice. In actuality, they want to destroy the evidence because it implicates them in colluding with the Russian Mafia. Realizing that the FBI and not the Mafia knew Mikhail was dead, Alain deduces that it was FBI agents who killed Mikhail and refuses to cooperate. After a fight, Alain handcuffs the agents together and leaves with Alex to visit Kirov, the leader of the Russian Mafia. When he finds them at a Banya, Alain tells Kirov that Ivan has been trying to kill him, which enrages Kirov. After Kirov tells Alain the truth about the so-called evidence he has, Ivan sends the big Russian thug from the lawyer's office to kill Kirov and Alain. Kirov dies and Alain escapes in the scuffle; during the pursuit by Ivan, Alain is arrested by NYPD. The two corrupt FBI agents find Alex, bail Alain out of jail and use her to force Alain to access the deposit box. Bank policy dictates that only Mikhail himself can access the safe deposit box, forcing the FBI agents to wait outside while Alaine passes for him. In the box is the evidence, and the banker also brings him a box in Alain's name. This one has thousands in cash, a gun and a tape recording from Mikhail explaining how he decided to escape the mob life and reunite with his family. He instructs a banker to turn over the evidence to the US Embassy and sets off the sprinkler system to make his escape. Ivan, waiting with Sebastien as his hostage, sends in the big Russian. The thug kills the banker and takes the evidence, but Alain catches up and kills him in the elevator. Outside, police officers block off Ivan's escape, giving Alain time to catch up, shoot out Ivan's tires, and rescue Sebastien; Ivan dies in the wreckage. Alain then chases the FBI agents into a meat locker where he shoots them both and rescues Alex. Mikhail's evidence of Mafia collusion with the FBI leads to several arrests. Alain takes Alex, with whom he is now romantically involved, to meet his mother so she can tell her about Mikhail.
Read more →
