Educational Media Reviews Online

On the morning of September 9, 1999, Lubov Morozov died when an explosion ripped through her apartment building in Russia. Her daughter Alyona, who shared the apartment with her, survived the blast, stunned and in shock. Lubov’s other daughter, Tatyana, a resident of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, received the terrible news by phone. Alyona joined Tatyana in the United States, and grief as well as questions about their mother’s death persisted.

Disbelief has a fitting title - reflecting not only the daughters’ disbelief, but that of the Russian people and others around the world in questioning the circumstances of the blast. This haunting film takes viewers on an emotionally exhausting journey as Tatyana and her young son return to Russia in search of answers.

At first, a gas leak was blamed for the apartment blast, but two more Russian apartment buildings were bombed in the same month. The Russian government blamed Chechen terrorists. Frightened residents of an apartment building in Ryazan alerted police to bags of suspicious white powder and what appeared to be a detonator in their apartment basement. Local police reported that the bags contained the chemical hexogen. Suspicions grew when the bomb materials were found to have links to the FSB. Outraged citizens wondered whether their government conspired to murder its own people to provoke anti-Chechen sentiments in support of war. FSB officials announced that they had been conducting an exercise with bags of sugar and that there was no hexogen used.

Dubbed the Russian Michael Moore, Nekrasov filmed Tatyana’s emotional journey back to her homeland in search for answers. One of the film’s most touching moments occurs during Tatyana’s visit to her grandparents in the Urals. Surrounded by family members in their simple mountain home, Tatyana embraces her young son and tearfully reminisces about her mother. Tatyana is assisted by lawyer Mikhail Trepashkin, a former FSB official, who was later convicted and imprisoned for divulging state secrets after reporting that the FSB was involved in the bombings. The sisters are left with their grief and their questions about their mother's death. Nekrasov's film encourages viewers to consider the facts and to form their own conclusions. Disbelief had its world premiere at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Highly recommended for general adult audiences. Includes graphic footage of the horrors of terrorism. Subtitles are included during numerous scenes of Tatyana’s visit to Russia.