A popular trend among Russian oligarchs is to purchase works of art. Why? It's a way to get into the Kremlin's good graces, to gild their image...and to cover up the origin of their fortunes, often acquired in the shadow of post-Soviet power.

Following a group of newly-minted collectors as they attempt to follow in the steps of well-known collectors of the early 20th-century, Tania Rakhmanov's powerful documentary ART AND OLIGARCHS depicts a Russia where art, easy money, and an authoritarian state co-exist.