Herman Yao’s latest film, Moscow Mission, chronicled a group of brave detectives who were sent to Moscow to eradicate a group of dangerous train robbers who had been terrorizing the trans-Siberian railway. The eyewitnesses claimed that the robbers often boarded the train disguised as regular passengers, sometimes individually or in groups. Once the train left the station, they donned their signature ski masks and robbed the entire train at gunpoint. Those who cooperated were left to see another day, while others became victims of their wrath. Once they were done, they pulled the chain and made their exit.
Spoilers Ahead
How does Cui Zhenhai plan to catch the robbers?
The latest robbery jeopardized the trade between Russia and China and even tarnished the latter’s reputation on a global scale. Since the robbers were a grave threat to both domestic and international travelers, the Chinese government brought in the big guns. The criminal investigation authorities of China created a joint task force to apprehend the robbers and bring them back to China to face trial. Detective Cui Zhenhai (Hanyu Zhang) had been on the force long enough to understand that the roots of these crimes go way up. Since he was the best detective in the force, he was asked to spearhead the case, along with a couple of other Chinese officers.
Their first course of action was to board the train disguised as tourists and find the woman scouting the passengers to find their boss, a man called D (Xuan Huang). The woman who had been scouting the train was Li Suzhen (Janice Man). Even though Cui Zhenhai’s superiors wanted him to make a quick arrest, he knew he had to proceed with caution. Cui Zhenhai knew any decision made in haste would warn the robbers, and they would bail, probably never to be seen again. Cui Zhenhai’s plan was to pose as rich loan sharks who arrived in Moscow to collect their debts and interest. Later, if the need arose, they would infiltrate the group as skilled robbers and arrest them when the time was right. This was exactly why Cui Zhenhai, and his team thwarted a robbery attempt, claiming they would be the ones robbing the train, not them.
Why Did Vasily Agree to Help D Rob the Casino?
When the robbers left the train empty-handed, Cui Zhenhai and his team snagged them with their cameras. Li Suzhen was one of the robbers responsible for scouting the passengers with the most valuables. Even though she hated her job, Li Suzhen had no choice, as she needed some serious money to pay for her mother’s hospital bills. She was dating Miao Ziwen (Jason Gu), D’s younger brother. D once used to run a smuggling ring with Vasily (Andy Lau). Rumor had it that they were even human traffickers. However, their plan fell through when the police found out about their smuggling routes. Had it not been the case, both Vasily and D would’ve been millionaires. D had grown sick of robbing the train and, thus, wished for a score that would set him for life. This was why he had been planning to rob the Water Palace Casino, one of the richest casinos in town. This explained D’s reasons for dating Marina, as her brother, Igor, had agreed to help him in exchange for 10%. D directed Vasily towards Sage Zhu, a machinist who could get them all the necessary gear. However, when Vasily refused, D promised to give him one thing he wanted most in the world: his daughter, Lily. Vasily had been trying to find her for years and always had suspicions that his ex-partner had something to do with her disappearance. Thus, to find his daughter, he instantly agreed.
How Did Cui Zhenhai Learn about D’s Plan?
One of the robbers had a falling out with D when he refused to increase his cut. In anger, D had his men kill his entourage. In fear, the robber sought shelter in the embassy and promised them good money if they helped him leave the country. Unfortunately, he was killed by a Russian assassin hired by D. Before dying, he told Cui Zhenhai and the others that D and his men were planning something big, which was somehow connected with the underground sewers. These were the same underground sewers that D was planning to use to rob the casino. As told by Igor, the casino used these underground sewer systems to transport their hard cash. This excellent strategy helped both in transportation and to avoid robberies or police raids on the surface.
D didn’t know that Cui Zhenhai now knew about his plan. The only thing left was to figure out how D would do it. D was also keeping tabs on Cui Zhenhai ever since he arrived in Moscow, thanks to his network of spies. He knew Cui Zhenhai was no loan shark, but a police officer was sent to arrest him. Fortunately, Li Suzhen came through and told Cui Zhenhai everything about the train robbery and her boss, D, including his real name, Miao Qingshan. But why? Wasn’t she in cahoots with him all along? In reality, D forced himself on her against her will and dug his own grave. Cui Zhenhai tried to arrest D and Vasily in the underground sewer, but they got away. In response, D had his assassin bomb Cui Zhenhai’s safe house, but luckily, no lives were lost.
Why Did Vasily Agree to Help Cui Zhenhai?
D had his younger brother murder Li Suzhen to ensure she didn’t tell the cops anything. This made Vasily turn against D and agree to help the cops bring D to China to face justice. Li Suzhen and Vasily were close, and the former had been helping him find his daughter. Cui Zhenhai also promised Vasily that he would do everything in his power to find Lily. Thus, Vasily revealed that he and D were planning to sell a fighter jet to a criminal organization for a great deal of money. The deal was that after the transaction was complete, D would get all the money, and Vasily would have his daughter’s address. Vasily told Cui Zhenhai about the location where the deal was taking place. Even though the deal went south and dozens of criminals were killed, Cui Zhenhai was able to arrest D. His brother, however, managed to evade capture. Vasily was also taken into custody and was promised an audience with his daughter once they crossed into China.
Did Vasily see Lily after crossing into China?
Unfortunately, even at the end of Moscow Mission, Vasily wasn’t able to see Lily, as he lost his eyes while fighting Ziwen and his men. But how? Cui Zhenhai and his team were using the same K-3 train to extradite them to China. Like always, the train was packed with both local and international civilians, who faced immediate danger when Ziwen held the train hostage. He demanded his brother be released to him immediately, or he would start killing people. Since there weren’t enough officers, Cui Zhenhai had to unlock Vasily’s handcuffs so he could protect himself. Cui Zhenhai knew Vasily wouldn’t betray him or run away, as he needed to see his daughter. There wasn’t any way Vasily was going to trade his daughter for his freedom, Cui Zhenhai claimed. Ziwen was killed, but sadly, Vasily lost his eyes in the process. This was heartbreaking, as all this while, he had been fighting tooth and nail to see his daughter, Lily, and now he might never be able to. As Moscow Mission neared its end, Vasily met his daughter at the border, but sadly, his eyes were covered with bandages, suggesting that he had completely lost his vision. As for D, he was handed over to the authorities to face trial.
Vasily and D used to be partners in crime and got rich by smuggling cigarettes and goods to other countries. He was famous for digging a sewage tunnel that connected Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Through this tunnel, Visily and D smuggled goods like cigarettes, watches, and who knows what else. However, their business was exposed during the repair work on an unfunctional pipeline. Vasily was arrested, but he made a deal with the police. He gave them the location of D in return for getting bail to see his daughter. Soon after, he escaped China, and his wife took his daughter. Only D knew where they were and was using this information to have a leash on Vasily.
