Despite its dubious artistic qualities , '' Countdown '' dramatizes many real life political concerns . In the very beginning the plot of the movie closely follows details of the independent investigation of the 1999 Russian apartment bombings described in the book '' Blowing Up Russia : Terror from Within '' by Yury Felshtinsky and Alexander Litvinenko , representing them as parts of the plan masterminded and sponsored by exiled tycoon Pokrovsky ( obvious hint at Boris Berezovsky in real life ) and aimed to discredit Russian security services . As this plan has failed , Pokrovsky assisted by some terrorists organizes a hostage taking in a Moscow circus ( very similar to Moscow theater hostage crisis in real life ) in order to return to Russia , acting as a saver of the hostages during negotiations . However , he fails to do so . The movie also depicts the Pankisi Gorge in Georgia as a place where an important Islamic militant hides , which was a common allegation by Russian authorities in real life around that time , and depicts destruction of a base of terrorists and allies of Pokrovsky in Qatar which might hint at the assassination of Zelimkhan Yandarbiev . Overall , the movie was widely considered propaganda
Moscow theater hostage crisis
Moscow theater hostage crisis
Countdown (2004 film)