Litvinenko Review: A Harrowing Tragedy Triggers A High Stakes Investigation

International diplomacy clashes with the desire for justice and accountability on Litvinenko, the new limited series chronicling the events leading up to and after Alexander Litvinenko’s murder.

Former FSB agent and new British citizen Alexander “Sasha” Litvinenko lived a somewhat quiet life in London. That is until he met with former Russian colleagues Andrey Lugovoy and Dimitri Kovtun one day at The Millennium Hotel’s Pine Bar.

His life changed and ended within weeks of that meeting. The cause? Poisoning, with traces of Polonium-210 found in his body.

What follows is a series of discoveries and frustrating setbacks as Litvinenko’s widow, and a coalition of law enforcement at the Metropolitan Police try to bring those responsible to justice.

It’s an exceedingly tricky subject matter to cover, considering the recency of the murder and how the country’s leader has been at the forefront of specific actions.

However, Litvinenko manages to walk a fine line, respecting the humanity of the man murdered at the center of this story and the mystery thriller aspect. The series goes beyond Litvinenko’s final days and into the search for justice from his wife, Marina, and those 200 officers, detectives, coroners, and forensic scientists that spent time on the investigation.

Confusion as the end of Episode 1 looms, and Litvinenko is pronounced dead. The haze clears as the premise comes into view with Episode 2, observing Marina and Anatoly’s lives after losing their husband and father, respectively, while examining the investigation.

The dual perspectives are intriguing and maintain the balance between humanity and mystery. It helps that additional angles to those at The Met working on the case display empathy and compassion for Litvinenko’s family and commit to not breaking their promise to Marina.  

From a historical standpoint, the specific details made public in the years following Litvinenko’s murder are woven into the dramatization for the purposes of the limited series and elevating the tension well.

Episode 3 escalates the tension as a trio of Met detectives arrive in Moscow to interview Lugovoy and Kovtun. An increasing sense of danger can be felt in every movement, decision, and statement as they commit to interrogating the two suspects.

Ingrid Campbell of the British Embassy accurately sums up the entire events in Russia.

Campbell: If they had included mind games in the Moscow Olympics, they would have swept the board.

And that is what we see as the hour manages to weave in a few red herrings, including when DI Tarpey falls ill.

But from an interview with a man claiming to be Kovtun, bandaged head to toe, and Lugovoy unwilling to provide direct answers, it goes about as well as anyone with even little knowledge of international relations would expect.

Even though the series takes viewers through 2016, there are some questions about what the story is trying to tell. Beyond remembrance of the loss of Litvinenko’s life – no doubt still fresh in the minds of many – the investigation and demonstration of Marina’s will to continue the fight, there’s no sense of closure.

It’s heartbreaking and frustrating and seems like an indictment on international diplomacy. While reading the report in Parliament and the Censure in the International Courts is something, the fact that no true justice can be done is disheartening.

Random Thoughts

• The public inquiry feels like a cathartic moment for Marina and those who spent years conducting the investigation.
• The call from Lugovoy at the end of Episode 2 will send a chill down anyone’s spine.
• The description of the state of Litvinenko’s organs is horrifying, and I cannot even fathom it.

 

What did you think of this episode of Litvinenko? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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All four episodes of Litvinenko are available to stream on AMC+ and Sundance Now.

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