If Serpico had known about YouTube
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"I am not afraid of quitting. I will tell you my name. I am Dymovsky, Aleksei Aleksandrovich."
A New York Times story recounts the adventures of Aleksei Dymovsky, a Russian police major who blew the whistle on corruption in a big way. The story compares him to Frank Serpico, the corruption-fighting New York police officer who became a household name courtesy of Hollywood, where he was portrayed by Al Pacino. Dymovsky, on the other hand, has become a household name (in Russia) courtesy of YouTube, where he portrayed himself:
Just imagine how compelling his story would be if it were told with the help of a famous actor, as Serpico's was. Come to think of it, a movie treatment already exists. Many of the themes in Dymovsky's story will be familiar to fans of Arkady Renko, the police-major protagonist in the novels of Martin Cruz Smith. One of those novels, "Gorky Park," was made into a movie starring William Hurt. It also features this other guy, who went on to become a famous action figure.
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