Bryan Fogel had some extraordinary timing. Fogel began by making a film about doping in sports and in the course of his experiment, he is introduced to Grigory Rodchenkov (a reference that suggests Don Catlin was aware of Russia's systemic doping). Rodchenkov admits to some unbelievable things on camera. He is extremely candid with Fogel, and the two of them develop a relatively close relationship. As time goes by, the international community begins to further investigate new allegations into Russia's state sponsored doping program and Rodchenkov finds himself in the middle of the investigation. And then the core of the film really begins. Fogel is instrumental in helping Rodchenkov escape Russia and blow the whistle on the Russian program he had helped to implement. Rodchenkov toes the line between perpetrator and mastermind and our opinion of him changes over the course of the film. The allegations are wild. The movie is suspenseful, engaging and downright incredible. Fogel and Rodchenkov find a brilliant metaphor in George Orwell's 1984, not coincidentally a dystopian portrait of the Soviet Union. It's a really well made documentary, a searing indictment of our system of drug testing.
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