As an American who lived in Eastern Erope for 10 years (no, not military), I can attest to the over-all gloominess in general, of the atmosphere. This movie does a great job of imparting this hard-to-describe feeling which chases you most days. Jim Carrey did an exceptional job (as usual), and just continues to show his genius in the breadth of roles he can play. And quite well at that.