F5: "Broken Sleep" Short Film

DLD said:
The guy has "вор в законе" tattoos?
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I don't know, what are those?

He was supposed to be covered in tatts from head to toe, with facial and neck tattoos as well (that's what the "Freak! Freak!" banging on his door was supposed to be about - he was meant to be a freakish looking guy in a small country town, and an outcast as a result).

Unfortunately our production designer dropped out at the last second. And both our set dressing and the tattoo makeup ended up vastly underdone (the perils of low-budget filmmaking!). And so much of the story and the character's arc were tied up in this weird, cluttered space and the character's strange appearance, that I feel like we lost quite a lot of the film's potential mojo to their lack.
 
Grug said:
I don't know, what are those?...
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"Vor v zakone" is usually translated into English as "Thief in Law". A more comparable title in the Cosa Nostra is a "made man" but, in the Russian speaking underworld, it's also a word for a "Godfather". One is generally "made", i.e., coronated, in jail by three most revered (and available for the ceremony) Godfathers. Once elevated to a prestigious title, a Thief in Law is then allowed to be tattooed with a star on each shoulder. An unauthorized star tattoo usually means an instant death sentence for the violation of the criminal code.

Further sign meanings.

http://austinist.com/2013/03/05/the_meaning_behind_russian_gangster.php

A Thief in Law is allowed to have an own crew (or, as the Russians call it, a "brigade") but the title can also be revoked for various infractions. Sometimes, it has been bought to the chagrin of the old timers, who frown on such deeds.

The topic was very popular during the perestroika era (1987-1991) of the Soviet Union, when the censorship in print and media came to an end. Prior to that, crime was a taboo. Post 1991, the organized crime became the dominant force but the top leaders (Otari "Kvant" Kvantrishvili and Sergei "Sylvester" Timofeyev, each assassinated in 1994) were not made men and were void of these tattoos.
 
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