Russian films like Mr Nobody are popular in the West and even receive Oscar nominations because they portray the Russian people "as a nation of 'small people', sincere in their naivety [and] victims of state villainy rather than its accomplices." This distorted sense of agency is shaped by a shameful denial of collective responsibility, reminiscent of post-war Germany when nobody was at fault except the Führer.
https://kyivindependent.com/oscar-nominated-film-shows-russias-enduring-small-person-complex/

Oscar-nominated ‘Mr. Nobody Against Putin’ exposes Russian passivity
"At the moment, I have no idea how much trouble I'm going to cause myself in the future," says Pavel Talankin at the very beginning of the documentary "Mr. Nobody Against Putin." Not every story about Russian propaganda demonstrates its power. Some merely highlight the self-dramatization of the Russian people and their real position — that in their own country, they are nobodies and will not even try to change that. So the audience is left with a distorted sense of agency, shaped by the denial