Anna
Beneath Anna Poliatova's striking beauty lies a secret that will unleash her indelible strength and skill to become one of the world's most feared government assassins.
The film disappointed at the box office against its respectable budget of $34.0M, earning $31.6M globally (-7% loss).
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Anna (2019) showcases strategically placed narrative design, characteristic of Luc Besson's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 59 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.4, the film takes an unconventional approach to traditional narrative frameworks.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Anna Poliatova
Alex Tchenkov
Lenny Miller
Olga
Vassiliev
Maude
Main Cast & Characters
Anna Poliatova
Played by Sasha Luss
A Russian woman who becomes a KGB assassin while secretly plotting her escape to freedom.
Alex Tchenkov
Played by Luke Evans
A KGB handler who recruits and controls Anna, developing genuine feelings for her.
Lenny Miller
Played by Cillian Murphy
A CIA agent who attempts to flip Anna to work for the Americans.
Olga
Played by Helen Mirren
Anna's ruthless KGB superior who trains and monitors her operations.
Vassiliev
Played by Eric Godon
A high-ranking KGB officer and Olga's superior in the organization.
Maude
Played by Lera Abova
Anna's girlfriend in Paris who becomes entangled in her secret life.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Anna selling matryoshka dolls in a Moscow market, trapped in poverty and an abusive relationship with her boyfriend Petyr, showing her desperate circumstances before escape.. Significantly, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 15 minutes when KGB agent Alex approaches Anna with an offer: become an assassin for the KGB and earn her freedom in five years, or remain trapped in her current life forever.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 29 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This demonstrates the protagonist's commitment to Anna makes her active choice to fully commit when she executes her first assignment: the restaurant massacre in Paris, revealing her lethal capabilities and crossing into her new identity as assassin-model., moving from reaction to action.
At 59 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat False defeat: Anna discovers her five-year freedom deal was a lie. KGB handler Olga reveals Anna will never be released, that she's property of the state forever. The stakes fundamentally shift., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 88 minutes (74% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Alex, Anna's mentor and the one person who showed her a path out, is executed by the KGB. His death represents the loss of hope and the death of Anna's belief that the system can be trusted or escaped through obedience., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 94 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 79% of the runtime. Anna synthesizes her training, manipulation skills, and understanding of both agencies to execute her master plan: she offers Olga's head to the CIA in exchange for freedom, while simultaneously securing her position., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Anna's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs a 15-point narrative structure framework that maps key story moments. By mapping Anna against these established plot points, we can identify how Luc Besson utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Anna within the action genre.
Luc Besson's Structural Approach
Among the 12 Luc Besson films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.0, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Anna takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Luc Besson filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional action films include The Bad Guys, Puss in Boots and Venom: The Last Dance. For more Luc Besson analyses, see The Fifth Element, The Family and Léon: The Professional.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Anna selling matryoshka dolls in a Moscow market, trapped in poverty and an abusive relationship with her boyfriend Petyr, showing her desperate circumstances before escape.
Theme
Alex tells Anna during her KGB recruitment: "Everyone has a past. The question is, what are you willing to do about your future?" - establishing the theme of reinvention and the cost of freedom.
Worldbuilding
Establishing Anna's brutal world: her poverty, abusive relationship, failed modeling attempts in Moscow, and the oppressive Soviet system. Introduces the dual timeline structure revealing her later success as a Paris model.
Disruption
KGB agent Alex approaches Anna with an offer: become an assassin for the KGB and earn her freedom in five years, or remain trapped in her current life forever.
Resistance
Anna's brutal KGB training under Alex's mentorship. She learns combat, espionage, and how to weaponize her beauty. The section shows her transformation from victim to weapon.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Anna makes her active choice to fully commit when she executes her first assignment: the restaurant massacre in Paris, revealing her lethal capabilities and crossing into her new identity as assassin-model.
Mirror World
Anna meets Lenny Miller, the CIA agent who becomes romantically interested in her, representing the possibility of genuine connection versus manipulation, and the Western freedom she desires.
Premise
The "fun and games" of Anna living her double life: glamorous model by day, deadly assassin by night. Multiple assignments, romantic entanglements with both Lenny and model Maude, showcasing her skills and the promise of the premise.
Midpoint
False defeat: Anna discovers her five-year freedom deal was a lie. KGB handler Olga reveals Anna will never be released, that she's property of the state forever. The stakes fundamentally shift.
Opposition
Anna secretly conspires to play the KGB and CIA against each other to engineer her true freedom. Pressure intensifies from all sides: Olga suspects betrayal, Lenny wants her to defect, and her dual manipulations grow increasingly dangerous.
Collapse
Alex, Anna's mentor and the one person who showed her a path out, is executed by the KGB. His death represents the loss of hope and the death of Anna's belief that the system can be trusted or escaped through obedience.
Crisis
Anna processes Alex's death and confronts the darkness of her situation. She must decide whether to give up or take the ultimate risk to secure her freedom through her own power, not anyone else's promises.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Anna synthesizes her training, manipulation skills, and understanding of both agencies to execute her master plan: she offers Olga's head to the CIA in exchange for freedom, while simultaneously securing her position.
Synthesis
The finale: Anna executes her plan, assassinating Olga and delivering KGB secrets to the CIA, while manipulating both sides to believe they've won. She orchestrates her complete freedom through her own agency and intelligence.
Transformation
Final image mirrors the opening: Anna in a market, but now in Hawaii, truly free and on her own terms. The matryoshka doll seller has become the ultimate hidden layer - free, powerful, and beholden to no one.