Jia’s movie is episodic; four loosely linked stories about lone acts of extreme violence, mostly culled from contemporary newspaper stories. Leviathan is about a decent man whose life is ruined by the mayor of his town in collusion with the Russian Orthodox Church and a corrupt judiciary.
贾樟柯的电影是回幕式的；取材于现代报纸报导的四则松散故事描绘了极端暴力的长期实景。《利维坦》描述的则是市长勾结俄国东正教会和腐败的司法系统毁掉了一位正派的俄罗斯人。