Directed by: Mimi Leder

Written by: Ted Humphrey & Reuben Leder

Co-Stars: Morgan Freeman, Radha Mitchell

European Release: February 2009

US Release: Undetermined (imdb.com currently shows April 17. 2009)

Distributors: Lionsgate, First Look Studios (North America) and Nu Image/Millenium Films (International)

Filming Location: Brooklyn, New York & Sophia, Bulgaria

Take one veteran art thief (Freeman), mix with one younger art thief (Antonio), two Faberge eggs valued at $40,000,000 and toss in the Russian Mob. What you get is a thriller where nothing is what it seems. Oh, and did we mention the sultry daughter (Mitchell) of the older thief’s former partner? The combination of players brings about plot twists at every turn.

Keith Ripley (Freeman) finds himself in a situation where he is being forced to repay a debt to the Russian mob. The job? To steal two mystery Faberge eggs from the seemingly impenetrable vault of Romanov’s. Knowing it is a two man job, he recruits Gabriel Martin (Banderas) as his partner for the heist. Personalities clash and tensions escalate as Gabriel meets and becomes involved with Alexandra Korolenko, Freeman’s goddaughter and daughter of his former partner, despite being warned by Ripley to “stay away”.

Ripley’s long-time nemesis on the police force is determined to bring the elusive art thief to justice, using any means available. As the police begin to move in, everything you assumed to be true turns into something else.

Fans of Antonio’s past movies will find themselves smiling as various ‘bits and pieces’ of prior characters pop up in Gabriel. While the movie had a somewhat slow start and some of the acting was a bit stilted, the action and intrigue picks up in the second half of the movie.

As he’s mentioned several times, Antonio is known to pick movie projects based on the director or the other actors in the film. “It’s a genre film, pure entertainment. There are some ulterior motives and nothing is as it seems”. When the film was offered to him, he was on a break from filming “Dali” and immediately flew to New York from Marbella for the chance to work with Morgan Freeman.