‘The Death of Stalin’ Review: Laughing in the Graveyard of History

Kremlinologists used to scrutinize every prosaic photo or public statement from the upper echelons of the Soviet Union for clues to which official was in or out, who was ascending to power or gulag-bound. Now “The Death of Stalin” looks back at the scheming scoundrels who scrambled for power when the Soviet dictator died of a stroke in 1953 and reveals that some were more monstrous than others, but all of them were vulgar clowns of invincible stupidity. Armando Iannucci’s absurdist comedy reveals this in an extremely loose manner of speaking, with malice aforethought, straight-faced glee and formidable sharpshooting...