Plot: Early in 1996, three Republican campaign operatives take a job in secret assisting Boris Yeltsin's reelection. Once in Moscow, they find he's polling at 6 percent with the election a few months away. While Dick Dresner wants to go home, George Gorton and Joe Shumate vote to stay. First, they must get someone's attention; they succeed finally with Yeltsin's daughter. Then it's polling, focus groups, messages and spin. Even as Yeltsin's numbers go up, the trio are unsure who hired them and whether Yeltsin's allies have a different plan in mind than election victory. When the going gets toughest, it's Gorton who puts a spin on our stake: democracy and capitalism must win.
Alternative Plot: Boris Yeltsin is running for re-election and his campaign isn't doing so well: his poll numbers are sinking and his chances of winning are slim. Republican consultants Dick Dresner (Anthony LaPaglia), George Gorton (Jeff Goldblum) and Joe Shumate (Liev Schreiber) accept an offer to bring their American political know-how to Yeltsin's floundering campaign. But when they arrive in Moscow they find their job is harder than they thought -- and they don't know exactly whom they're working for.
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