Romanian Film "Graduation" by Dir/Writer Chritian Mungiu -Moral Decay is Rampant

The Romanian film "Graduation" with English subtitles is by writer/dir Chritian Mungiu (b Romania 1968.)  The film is set in Romania today which has an overall pall of gloom & oppression.  The movie deals with social corruption & eroding morality.  Everyone appears on the take; leveling the playing field justifies cheating.  The protagonist, Romeo Aldea, is a physician whose only daughter, Eliza is about to graduate high school.  She's a bright student & has been granted an opportunity to study in the U.K.  First, she must qualiy for scholarship through additional exams.  Romeo is a loving & devoted dad (albeit cheating husband) who feels that Eliza's entire future relies on excellent exam scores.  The movie begins with a rock being thrown through the family's apartment.  Romeo chases outside into the bleak & empty streets in a futile attempt to discover the culprit.  He returns to take Eliza to school on the way to work. Running late, Eliza tells him to drop her off near a construction site & she'll walk. Romeo is running late to have sex with his mistress, Sandra. He's there when he receives an urgent call Eliza's  been assaulted. Romeo rushes to the hospital where a distraught Eliza has escaped with a sprained wrist requiring a cast.  The cast is a perfect metaphor for everyone's hands being tied up and tit for tat illicit favor granting which is further eroding the morality of corrupt country.  Eliza cast bars her from taking the exam.  The exam is her gateway into the U.K.; a civilized country with abundant opportunities.  The chief of police with whom Eliza is reporting the attack, is a friend of Romeo's.  When Romeo explains Eliza's dire situation, the officer offers to connect him with his friend who can be of help. This friend is in need of an organ transplant & Romeo manages to move him up on the waiting list.  All kinds of wheeling dealing & cheating ensue.  It's hard not to stay above the fray of the lawless jungle and the ends justifying the means assuages doubt.  Everyone has their weak spot.  Romeo's wife Magda is morose, his mistress wants a speech therapist for her son & wetting someone's palm is the way to get things done.  Mungiu intelligent & credible movie making has a tenable assumption of social decay.  Romeo's hypocrisy in lecturing Sandra's young son on proper behavior casts the final stone that smashes through our senses.