Anora is a 2024 American romantic comedy-drama film[5] written, directed, produced, and edited by Sean Baker. It stars Mikey Madison as Anora “Ani” Mikheeva, a stripper from New York who marries the wealthy son of a Russian oligarch played by Mark Eydelshteyn. The supporting cast includes Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, Darya Ekamasova, and Aleksei Serebryakov.
Anora “Ani” Mikheeva, a 23-year-old stripper, lives in Brighton Beach, a Russian-American neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York City. Her boss introduces her to Ivan “Vanya” Zakharov, the 21-year-old son of Russian oligarch Nikolai Zakharov, who is looking for someone fluent in Russian. Although Vanya is in the US studying, he spends most of his time partying in clubs and playing video games at his parents’ lavish mansion in Brooklyn.
Vanya hires Anora for several s̲e̲x̲u̲a̲l̲ ̲ encounters. He invites her to a New Year’s Eve party at the mansion, and the next day, he offers her $15,000 to be his girlfriend for a week. During that week, Anora parties with Vanya and his friends, and they all take a lavish trip to Las Vegas. At the end of the trip, Vanya reveals that he has to return to Russia permanently to work at his father’s company, expressing his contempt for his parents. He says that he won’t have to leave if he marries an American, and impulsively proposes. Anora is reluctant at first, but agrees after Vanya assures her that his feelings are genuine.
They elope to a wedding chapel in Vegas. Vanya then buys her a large wedding ring and an expensive fur coat. She resigns and moves into Vanya’s mansion. When news of their marriage reaches Russia, Vanya’s mother, Galina, orders his Armenian godfather, Toros, to find them and arrange an annulment while she and his father, Nikolai, fly to America. Toros sends his henchmen, Garnik and Igor, to the mansion. They inform Vanya that his parents are taking him back to Russia and anger Anora by calling her a prostitute, implying that Vanya only married her for a green card. Vanya flees the scene, and Anora gets into a violent struggle with Garnik and Igor before they overpower her. When Toros arrives, he tells Anora that Vanya’s mansion and property belong to his parents, that he is immature and financially dependent on them. He confiscates her wedding ring, gags her, and offers $10,000 to annul the marriage. Anora insists that she and Vanya are in love, but she agrees to help find him.
Anora, Toros, Garnik, and Igor search Brooklyn. Anora is told by friends that Vanya is at her old strip club, where he is being entertained by Diamond, a rival dancer. They drag Vanya out of the club, but he is too drunk to hear them, and the group is forced to wait outside the courthouse overnight. The annulment is denied because the marriage took place in Nevada.
At the airport, Anora introduces herself to Nikolai and Galina in Russian, but Galina refuses. Giving in to her parents, Vanya coldly tells Anora that their marriage must end while Galina orders everyone to board a plane to Las Vegas. For not signing a prenuptial agreement, Anora promises to file for divorce, but Galina threatens her with bankruptcy if she does not comply. Realizing Vanya’s cowardice and the power of her family, Anora signs the annulment papers. Igor asks Vanya to apologize to Anora, but Galina refuses. Anora insults both Vanya and Galina before leaving, telling Galina that Vanya only married her for revenge, much to Nikolai’s amusement.
Igor takes Anora back to New York to collect her belongings. At the mansion, she confronts Igor about their encounter, accusing him of assault and saying that he would have raped her if they had been alone; Igor assures her that he is not a rapist and has no intention of doing so. The next morning, Igor gives Anora the money Toros promised and drives her home. In the car, he returns her wedding ring as a token of goodwill. Anora initiates intercourse with him but stops when he tries to kiss her; she breaks down and sobs in his arms.
