The Washing Machine 2020

Three eccentric sisters share a penthouse life under the banner of the Kolbas: Vida, the spoiled temptress; Ludmilla, the lonely voyeur; and Maria, the bisexual sister who keeps a black cat and a sharp wit. Their world is turned upside down when Yuri Petkov, Vida’s ex-boyfriend and a ruthless mob boss, leaves behind a chilling clue—an engraved bracelet bearing Maria’s nickname, “Sissy.” After Vida ends the relationship, a late-night mystery erupts: the washing machine roars to life, blood pours from the door, and when the door finally creaks open, Yuri lies dead and dismembered inside. Ludmilla tries to flee but is knocked unconscious, and by the time the police arrive, Yuri’s mutilated remains have vanished.

Inspector Alexander Stacev is assigned to the case, but he dismisses it as a drunken hallucination rather than a homicide. Ludmilla, unwilling to let the mystery rest, reaches out to Stacev anonymously, without revealing how she got his number. A tense meeting follows, where Vida’s aggression and seduction blur the line between accusation and arousal, hinting that Ludmilla’s jealousy may have spurred Yuri to danger. Stacev rebuffs Vida, but when he attempts to meet Ludmilla later, he is diverted by his colleague, Nikolai, who drops a troubling hint: Yuri’s criminal files have gone missing. The sisters begin to shadow Stacev, weaving lies and shifting stories as they try to manipulate the investigation.

The tension tightens when Ludmilla hands over love letters Yuri supposedly wrote to Maria, only for Maria to insist that she and her blind girlfriend, Nidaya, toyed with Yuri for their own ends. Vida chips away at Yuri’s legitimacy by presenting a letter she claims is in Yuri’s handwriting, while another letter—allegedly genuine—appears as proof. A dangerous turn comes when Vida persuades Stacev to break into Yuri’s apartment with her; she cuffs him to a stairwell and rapes him, an assault that clouds every subsequent move with danger and desire. Nikolai’s error—omitting the fact that Stacev’s fingerprints were at the scene—leads to a flare of professional anger from Stacev toward his rookie partner.

The sisters’ stories remain slippery and inconsistent. Maria insists she saw her cat eat Yuri’s hand on a plate, Ludmilla claims clairvoyance, insisting she foresaw Yuri’s murder in a dream that preceded it, and Vida reveals a past tragedy of Ludmilla’s husband drowning in a canal, a tale that somehow leaves Ludmilla officially cleared. Maria embraces a seductive performance, especially during a seminar with blind students run by her and Nidaya, where she and her partner kiss openly and tease Stacev’s vulnerability in front of an audience.

As the affair between Stacev and Irina—Stacev’s girlfriend and a lawyer—unravels, Irina’s confession to the mounting pressure becomes deadly: she ends her own life with Stacev’s service pistol after a confrontation that tears at his loyalties. At headquarters, two German criminals are brought in, and Yuri’s manipulation of a business deal with counterfeit payment is exposed. They confirm Yuri’s presence at the house outside the time frame the sisters claim, casting doubt on everyone. Each confession collapses under scrutiny: Ludmilla and Maria fabricate versions of Yuri’s death—Ludmilla claims a sexual tryst on the washing machine led to electrocution, while Maria claims to have walked in on a sexual encounter and stabbed Yuri. Throughout, Stacev’s tea is drugged, and he drifts into disturbing dreams in which Vida and her sisters reenact the brutal remains disposal, their laughter echoing in the background.

When the drug’s effects fade, a new thread emerges: a suitcase filled with jewels and cash, intended for the sisters, remains hidden at Stacev’s apartment as he plots to build a solid case. Maria confronts him in the conservatory, flaunting photos of him with all three sisters and using blackmail to drive a wedge between him and his career. The plan to walk away with wealth seems within reach, and for a moment, Stacev is swayed by her charm and promises.

Yet the room grows darker as a betrayal surfaces. Nikolai—a figure who seems loyal—steals the coveted suitcase, only to be killed by an unseen assailant, his dismembered body found in Yuri’s washing machine. The city’s hidden loyalties come to light when Yuri himself reappears as the killer behind both Nikolai and Stacev’s fates. Nidaya reappears as well, exposing Maria’s attempt to pull Yuri into a “family” pact for survival. Yuri’s threat to Maria’s safety escalates into a coercive ultimatum: join the family or face dire consequences. A macabre group portrait is staged with Stacev still trapped in the washer, a grim reminder of who wields power in this twisted household.

In a final act of vengeance, Maria refuses to be coerced and instead seeks to end Yuri’s reign once and for all. She uses an iron to deliver a brutal electrocution as Yuri stands bathed in water, ending his menace in a shocking instant. The five women circle around Maria, sharing a mocking, triumphant laugh, as the crime’s threads tighten into a single, devastating conclusion. The estate’s glittering riches and the bodies it has concealed remain a haunting reminder that in this house of secrets, power, sex, and loyalty are all weaponized, and no one escapes unscathed.