''The Mechanik'' (released under the alternative title known as ''The Russian Specialist'') is a 2005 German-American

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

starring and directed by

Dolph Lundgren Hans Lundgren (, ; born 3 November 1957), better known as Dolph Lundgren, is a Swedish actor, filmmaker and martial artist. His breakthrough came in 1985, when he starred in '' Rocky IV'' as the imposing Soviet boxer Ivan Drago. Since then, Lu ...

, who wrote with Bryan Edward Hill. The film co-stars

Ben Cross Harry Bernard Cross (16 December 1947 – 18 August 2020) was an English stage and film actor. He was best known for playing Billy Flynn in the original West End production of the musical ''Chicago'', and his portrayal of the British Ol ...

, Ivan Petrushinov,

Olivia Lee Olivia Lee is a British comedian, actress and writer. Early life Lee is from a Jewish family. She studied acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Career Lee landed a presenting job alongside Simon Amstell on Channel 4's ''T4''. She l ...

and Raicho Vasilev. Most of the film was shot in Bulgaria and there are many Bulgarian actors in the cast as well.

Plot

Retired Spetsnaz soldier Nikolai "Nick" Cherenko (

) is a mechanic in the small Russian village of Gorelovo. His wife, Alina (Hilda van der Meulen), and son, Vanya (Naum Shopov) are killed by Russian mob boss Aleksandr "Sasha" Popov (Ivan Petrushinov) when he and his gang start a shootout after a bad drug deal. Nick arms himself and takes his revenge one night, killing five of Popov's men. Finally he shoots Popov in the face, leaving him for dead. 7 years later, Nick works as a mechanic in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. Wealthy widow Mary Abramoff (

Levana Finkelstein Levana Finkelstein ( he, לבנה פינקלשטיין; born 21 September 1947) is an Israeli actress and sculptor. She has appeared in more than thirty films since 1969. Selected filmography References External links * * 1947 birth ...

) tracks him down and pleads with him to go to Russia and retrieve her daughter Julia (

), who has been kidnapped and forced into the sex trade. Nick refuses, claiming he is just a mechanic. John Ridley (Atanas Srebrev), Mary's attorney reveals that they know his past, but he continues to refuse. Finally he is convinced when Mary reveals that the man who killed her husband and took her daughter is Sasha, still alive, and Nick sets off to

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. British mercenary William Burton (

) offers to take a prostitute, Natalia, away with him after "a job," but she refuses. He stumbles, drunk, into his apartment, where he is confronted by Nick. After sobering him up, Nick takes him to the club where Sasha hides out. Nick immediately attacks the guards and demands to see Sasha despite Burton's insistence they play it cool. Burton pulls him away and says they will return the next night; Burton fears Nick has compromised their mission. The following night, Natalia lets Nick, Burton and a group of Russian mercenaries (Yuri, Sergei, Alexi, and Pavel) into the club. They find Julia, strung out, and escape the club in a shootout where only 2 of the Russian mercenaries, Yuri ( Asen Blatechki), and Sergei (Antony Argirov) survive; Sergei has been badly wounded in the leg. They begin driving to the Finnish border and Sasha's thugs give chase. Nick buys them time by luring the thugs into a tunnel, changing cars and setting off a bomb. The group stop at a farm house to tend to Sergei then proceed to the border which has closed for the night; they stay with their contact, Misha, one of Nick's former Spetsnaz soldiers. Sasha stops at the farm house and determines Nick is headed for the border and he continues to chase them. The next morning, Sergei dies of his injuries, and Sasha arrives and Nick's group (Burton, Yuri, and Misha) prepares for a fight. Sasha tries to lure Burton out by bringing Natalia, whom he kills, angering Burton. Nick and his group split up and begin picking off Sasha's men. Finally, Nick confronts Sasha, who grabs Julia. She scratches his face to distract him and Nick shoots his leg; he crawls away but Nick executes him with a shot to the head. Burton and Yuri accompany Julia across the border to

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

where she is reunited with her mother. Nick walks away from the village to Saint Petersburg, his path unknown.

Cast

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mechanik, The 2005 films 2005 direct-to-video films 2005 action films American films about revenge American action films English-language German films Films directed by Dolph Lundgren Films scored by Elia Cmíral Films shot in Bulgaria Films shot in Saint Petersburg German action films Nu Image films 2000s Russian-language films 2000s American films 2000s German films