A Soviet band called Leningrad Cowboys travel to America together with their ruthless manager (Matti Pellonpää), where, they’ve been told, ”people will buy anything”.

This comedy became a cult item and helped Aki Kaurismäki reach a wider, international audience. Inspired by an actual punk/rock/comedy band in Finland called Sleepy Sleepers, the film turns into a road movie, with a deadpan, dry-as-tinder sense of humor as the backbone of a series of skits in lieu of an actual story.

Disarming and funny, with a band that remains loyal to the joke, rockabilly/Teddy Boy style and all.

1989-Finland-Sweden. 79 min. Color. Written and directed by Aki Kaurismäki. Cast: Matti Pellonpää (Vladimir Kuzmin), Sakke Järvenpää, Heikki Keskinen, Sakari Kuosmanen, Puka Oinonen, Kari Väänänen, Jim Jarmusch. 

Trivia: Co-produced by Kaurismäki. Prominent American blues musicians show up in cameos and a few members of Sleepy Sleepers appear as the Leningrad Cowboys. Followed by a sequel, Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses (1994), and a concert film, Total Balalaika Show (1994).