Black Swan Review – The sensational show that tore an entire country apart | TV and radio

AA black swan is the name given to an event so extraordinary that you could never have predicted it, filmmaker Mads Brügger explains at the start of this four-part documentary series. In this case, Brugger’s black swan is not so much an event as a person: a lawyer named Amira Smajt, a “once in a lifetime” source for a journalist and the person who – he says – can “force us to rethink Danish society.” Smajic has spent years working on behalf of some of the country’s most notorious criminal gangs, and now he is exposing their activities as part of this major investigation for state-owned TV2. Crucially, Smajic exposes not only the criminal underworld, but also their associates – respected businessmen and lawyers seemingly unfazed by adventures involving dirty money and fraudulent invoices. It’s an arrangement based on interdependence, with one part of society “feeding the other, and vice versa,” says Smajic.

It would be an exaggeration to say that Black Swan had an impact on Danish viewers. It was watched by half of Danes when it was broadcast in 2024, and it sparked a series of police investigations, as well as tightening laws on money laundering and gang activity. It also turned the country’s almost degraded view of itself upside down. Brugger, the often steely, sandpaper-dry actor who previously worked undercover in North Korea for The Red Chapel, claims that The Black Swan showed him that the country can be “grim and dark.” Simply put: there was something rotten in the country of Denmark.

It’s easy to see why the series had such a huge impact. In addition to the huge revelations it reveals, the way The Black Swan unfolds often seems to go beyond the work of some of the best Nordic dramatists. Our anti-heroine, Smajic, arrives in Denmark as a child refugee in the middle of the Bosnian War. A legitimate career gave way to working with the mob, and she continued to be called the “Ice Queen” by her colleagues because of her harsh practices. However, as the events of the series unfold, Smajic uses the same practices to obtain a large amount of evidence for Brügger and his team, often putting herself in seemingly imminent danger as she documents all manner of nefarious activities from an office in Copenhagen equipped with hidden microphones and cameras. While production has arranged safety procedures for Smajic during her six-month stint as inside woman, it is still a risky business. But as she explains, this may be her only way out of the life of crime that has become ingrained in her being, and which she likens to drug addiction.

Many of the scenes that unfold defy belief, not least those involving Fasar Abrar Raja, a Rasputin-style former member of the Bandidos biker club whose indictment includes convictions for assault, firearms possession, and drug trafficking. His bragging and impudence slowly turn into something darker. In the third episode, which will be broadcast next week, he threatens to “crush.” [Smajic] With my bare hands.”

Even when her agents are less outwardly threatening, many scenes are still not believable. Martin Malm – a man whom Brugger describes as “beyond the clichés of the Danish upper class”, with a taste for the high life and a love of Christmas sweaters – says frankly that keeping a lid on his business affairs is like finding a cheat code for a video game.

Black Swan can feel a bit long; In fact, by the end of the first two episodes, we’re still only a small part of the way into the story. However, while episode three is also slow and meticulous, episode four is a heart-stopper at the end that sees Brugger confused by what is unfolding around him, as the team considers the possibility that the entire operation may be in jeopardy. Without becoming too much of an insider, it offers a glimpse into journalistic ethics at a crucial stage of an investigation, and a masterclass in closing a story that spirals out of control.

“It’s like you’re in a bad movie,” says Smaich, who finds herself in a more precarious situation than ever before. Fortunately, this bad movie is an interesting series, focusing on the real-life impact that television can have.