Siberian rock band Leningrad Cowboys go to the USA in pursuit of fame.

After the film was released, the fictional band transformed into a real band, complete with ludicrous hairstyles. This seems to be something that happens... if I am not mistaken, Spinal Tap also ended up touring following the popularity of their film.

American director Jim Jarmusch has a cameo as a car dealer. The film also includes cameos by blues guitarist Duke Robillard and American Rockabilly Hall of Famer, Colonel Robert Morris, with his wife Irene. I recognized Jarmusch instantly, and he seems like the sort of person who would show up in these films. I cannot imagine anyone else who was so supportive and synonymous with independent film in the 1980s.

A highly unlikely Russian rock group and their greedy jerk manager (ably played to the smarmy hilt by Matti Pellonpaa) travel to America seeking fame and fortune. While en route to a wedding gig in Mexico, they are pursued by village idiot Igor (a hysterical portrayal by Kari Vaahanen) who wishes to join the band.

Writer/director Aki Kaurismaki relates the engaging story at a steady pace, adroitly crafts and maintains a deliciously dry'n'deadpan tone throughout, and shows a genuine disarming affection for both its colorful idiosyncratic characters and the more flaky'n'seedy aspects of American culture. With their pointy shoes, stoic demeanors, and ridiculously massive unicorn hairstyles, the titular rock'n'roll group make for a likeable and amusing bunch of oddballs. Moreover, the scenes with the Leningrad Cowboys performing live in various sordid venues are a hoot, with the sequence in which they win over a hostile crowd in a sleazy biker bar with a fiery rendition of "Born To Be Wild" rating as a definite gut-busting highlight. A quirky delight.

The most politically inclined and intellectual viewer would analyze this movie as a political satire, and they would be right. However, this movie is more enjoyable if seen as a road movie and a look at America through the eyes of a foreigner. Funny and poignant.