| Director | Sean Baker |
|---|---|
| Genre | comedy drama |
| Runtime | 139 min |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $6 million |
| Box office | $59.3 million |
Anora "Ani" Mikheeva, a 23-year-old stripper, lives in Brighton Beach, a Russian-American neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. Her boss introduces her to Ivan "Vanya" Zakharov, the 21-year-old son of the Russian oligarch Nikolai Zakharov, who has requested a dancer fluent in Russian. Though Vanya is in the U.S. to study, he spends most of his time partying in clubs, getting drunk and stoned and playing video games in his parents' lavish Brooklyn mansion.
Vanya hires Ani for several sexual encounters. He invites her to a New Year's Eve party at the mansion, and the following day, he offers her $15,000 to be his girlfriend for a week. During the week, Ani parties with Vanya and his friends, and they all go on an extravagant trip to Las Vegas. At the end of the trip, Vanya reveals that he has to return to Russia permanently to work at his father's company and expresses disdain for his parents. He suggests that he will not have to leave if he marries an American and impulsively proposes marriage. Ani is reluctant at first but agrees after Vanya assures her that his feelings are genuine. They elope at a Vegas wedding chapel. Vanya then buys her a large wedding ring and an expensive fur coat. She resigns from her job and moves into Vanya's mansion. When news of their marriage reaches Russia, Vanya's mother, Galina, orders his Armenian godfather, Toros, to find them and arrange an annulment while she and his father, Nikolai, fly to the U.S.
Toros sends his henchmen, Garnik and Igor, to the mansion. They inform Vanya that his parents are taking him back to Russia and enrage Ani by calling her a prostitute, suggesting Vanya only married her for a green card. Vanya flees the premises, and Ani engages in a violent struggle with Garnik and Igor before they restrain her. When Toros arrives, he tells Ani that Vanya's mansion and wealth belong to his parents and that he is immature and financially dependent on them. He confiscates her wedding ring, gags her after she starts screaming, and offers her $10,000 for the annulment. Ani insists she and Vanya are in love, but she agrees to help find him.
Over the next 12 hours, Ani, Toros, Garnik, and Igor search Brooklyn. Ani eventually learns from friends that Vanya is at her former strip club, where he is being entertained by Diamond, a rival dancer. They drag Vanya out of the club, but he is too intoxicated to listen to them, and the group is forced to wait outside the courthouse overnight. The annulment is dismissed since the marriage took place in Nevada.
At the airport, Ani introduces herself to Nikolai and Galina in broken Russian, but Galina rejects her. Conceding to his parents, Vanya coldly tells Ani their marriage must end while Galina orders everyone onto a plane to Las Vegas. Having not signed a prenuptial agreement, Ani pledges to file for a divorce settlement, but Galina threatens her and her family with financial ruin if she does not comply. Realizing Vanya's cowardice and his family's power, Ani signs the annulment papers. Igor suggests Vanya apologize to Ani, but Galina objects. Ani insults both Vanya and Galina before leaving, telling Galina that Vanya hates her and only got married to spite her.
Igor takes Ani back to New York to collect her belongings. At the mansion, she confronts Igor about their encounter the previous day, accusing him of assault and saying he would have raped her had they been alone, though Igor assures her that he had no intention of doing so. The next morning, Igor gives Ani the money Toros promised her and drives her home. In the car, he returns her wedding ring as a token of goodwill. Ani initiates sex with him but stops when he tries to kiss her; she breaks down and sobs in his arms.