“ | Rostov's death was justice. He took my daughter. | „ |
~ Brezin's justification for killing Peter Rostov. |
Nikolas Brezin is the main antagonist of the Law & Order episode "Fallout". He is a former KGB officer who travels to the United States to kill the Russian criminals who trafficked his daughter into the country.
He was portrayed by Mark Ivanir, who also portrayed Mikael Abramov in Law & Order: Organized Crime, Pavel Morozov in Metro: Last Light, The Doctor in Metro Exodus, and Solomon in Battlefield 3.
Biography[]
Growing up in the Soviet Union, Brezin served in the Young Pioneers youth organization and later joined the KGB as an analyst in 1989. He left after the fall of the Soviet Union and joined the regular Moscow police, where he served with distinction and was decorated for his service.
During Brezin's time in the Moscow police, he was approached by human trafficker Peter Rostov, who had served in the Young Pioneers with him. Rostov tried to bribe him to tell him how much the police knew about his activities; when Brezin turned down the bribe, Rostov arranged for his daughters, Ivana and Nadia, to be kidnapped, offering to release them in return for Brezin's help. Brezin did as he asked, but Rostov liked having a police officer under his control and told him he would only release one of his daughters, making him decide which one. Brezin chose to save his younger daughter Ivana, reasoning that she had less chance of survival than her sister, and Nadia was then sent to one of Rostov's brothels overseas. Brezin tried to track her down, but didn't know which country Rostov had shipped her to, and didn't trust any of his police colleagues to help him.
After Nadia had been missing for several months, she managed to escape from Rostov and called her father from a payphone to tell him she was being held by Rostov and his brother Karl in New York City. However, after only a few moments Rostov's men caught up to her and dragged her away to be killed while she was still on the phone. Brezin assumed she was dead and began plotting his revenge, using his ex-KGB contacts to obtain ricin poison and travelling to the United States with the intention of killing the Rostov brothers and finding Nadia's body to be shipped back to Russia for burial.
"Fallout"[]
Brezin arrives in New York City and tracks down Peter Rostov's driver, Alex Chambers, forcing him to tell him that the Rostov brothers will be at the Mirror Club later that day. He then lies in wait at the club until the brothers arrive before discreetly spiking their drinks with ricin just before they are delivered to the brother's table. Karl's drink is spilled on the way over, sparing his life, but Peter drinks his and dies in agony the following day.
Detectives Ed Green and Nina Cassady investigate the murder and soon uncover the Rostov's trafficking business, resulting in Karl Rostov's arrest. They initially suspect rival gangsters of the murder, until Karl recalls that he saw a man watching them during their meeting at the Mirror Club. CCTV from the club shows this same man sitting next to the brother's drinks just before they are delivered, although it is impossible to tell if he put anything in them. Green and Cassady soon identify him as Nikolas Brezin and search his hotel room, which he has recently vacated, finding traces of ricin. They also find Nadia's medical records and, recalling that one of the trafficked women mentioned a "Nadia" who was killed trying to escape, realize that Brezin wants revenge on the Rostovs for killing his daughter.
Brezin realizes the police are onto him and runs for the Russian consulate. Green and Cassady try to stop him, but he manages to elude them by throwing a lighter on the ground; by the time they can verify it is not ricin, Brezin is inside the consulate, who refuse to hand him over. However, Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy reaches a deal with the Russian consul to extradite Karl Rostov to Russia for trial in return for Brezin being turned over to the police, after first having Karl testify about the trafficking operation in front of a grand jury so that Brezin's motive will be admissible as evidence. The exchange goes through, and moments after Rostov's arrest by Russian authorities, a consular car pulls up and Brezin is thrown out before being arrested by Green and Cassady.
Brezin's defense argues that he did not know that Nadia was dead and therefore had no reason to kill Rostov, who was the only person who could have led him to his daughter. Assistant District Attorney Connie Rubirosa, prosecuting Brezin, argues that the fact that he brought Nadia's medical records shows that he anticipated needing to identify her body, and that he came to America looking for revenge, not to save Nadia. However, her case is complicated when the police raid Alex Chambers' house, having discovered that he was tasked by Rostov with killing Nadia, only to find Nadia alive - Alex had fallen in love with her during her captivity and chose not to kill her, hiding her at his house and telling Rostov she was dead. This strengthens Brezin's case that he believed Nadia was alive.
At trial, Nadia testifies about the abuse she suffered at the hands of the Rostovs and that she never gave up hope that her father was looking for her, while Brezin testifies that he always held out hope that she was still alive and that he followed Rostov to the club in the hope that he would lead him to the brothel. However, McCoy and Rubirosa recall that the surveillance footage shows that Brezin arrived at the club before Rostov, and realize that he must have got Rostov's location from someone on the inside. They talk to Alex Chambers, who admits that he told Brezin where Rostov would be, and reveals that Rostov told him Brezin had given Nadia to him, which is why he didn't tell him she was still alive.
McCoy sets up a meeting with Brezin and accuses him of selling Nadia to Rostov, confronting him with Alex's statement and phone records which show that he and Rostov called one another several times before and after Nadia's kidnapping. Brezin denies any role in the kidnapping, but when McCoy tells him that the evidence will be presented in court and Nadia will hear about it, he breaks down and admits that Rostov forced him to choose which of his daughters would be taken. In return for Nadia not hearing about what he did, Brezin agrees to plead guilty to first-degree manslaughter and goes to prison for ten years.
External links[]
- Nikolas Brezin on the Law & Order Wiki