Stalin dies and what unfolds is a British comedy that lives to tell the story. If you squirmed with laughter at the 2009 In the Loop, you’ll find yourself cheering at The Death of Stalin, a film about people locked in place by sweet cowardliness. There’s brilliant cinema intensity in the way Stalin’s entourage tip-toes around the seismic change that is his death. Steve Buscemi is a venomous snake playing Nikita Khrushchev but I’ll personally remember Jeffrey Tambor’s trembling performance (the dude in white) as Stalin’s immediate successor. 

Banned in Russia - the measure of its sting.