In the Polish original tragicomic crime film biopic ‘How I Fell in Love with a Gangster’ (‘Jak pokochalam gangstera,’ director Maciej Kawulski of ‘Underdog’ renown depicts an epic existence. The story follows Nikodem “Nikos” Skotarczak, the King of the East Coast, and a tiger amid wolves. As Nikos’ dominion expands, more and more characters flock to him. With unapologetic hedonism, drugs, and women, things quickly spiral out of control.

Nikos becomes increasingly estranged from his surroundings, setting the stage for his suicide. But, at the crux, the larger-than-life plot is a recollection of Nikos’ numerous escapes through the window as the window shrinks. As we relive Nikos’ life from a third person’s point of view, there are bound to be unanswered issues. So, let us disentangle the finale. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

Plot Synopsis for How I Fell in Love with a Gangster

A journalist confronts an enigmatic woman about Nikodem “Nikos” Skotarczak, a larger-than-life Polish gangster. The woman begins the story of Nikos’ life in a pub that Nikos once owned. Nikos was born on June 29, 1954, in the Polish port town of Tricity. He had a demanding father, a hardworking mother, and academic difficulties. In the past, we’ve seen Nikos, the middle sibling, engage in criminal activity in order to buy his siblings ice cream sandwiches.

During the Soviet era, tiny gangsters known as “city lads” controlled the city’s criminal underworld. Nikos visits the gang leader, Inkblot, who becomes his football coach. After a time jump, the business reopens in Gdansk in 1973. Nikos works as a bouncer during the day and as a rugby player at night. Nikos has a crush on Inkblot’s ex-girlfriend, Milena. Magi, a Pruszkow criminal, is introduced to him by Komo. Nikos gradually but steadily gains a firm grasp on the European market and even appears to be a westerner. Nikos reunites with Milena in the subway, and they reconnect. Nikos gets her a place to live and gives her the name “Jet.”

However, another female, Halina, arrives, the sister of the biggest embezzler, Tender Roman. Nikos marries for the second time after falling in love with Halina at first sight. Halina and Nikos operate a tiny casino in 1979. Nikos enters the big leagues with the help of Tender Roman, rubbing elbows with the local cops. He also purchases a football team and, later, a stadium. His family continues to grow. However, things are changing, and when Nikos shifts his focus from cars to cocaine, he wins by a landslide.

What Causes Nikos’ Death in How I Fell In Love With A Gangster?

Nikos is the show’s larger-than-life star, however he begins to resemble a ghost from the past later in the plot. At first impression, he appears to be a terrible mobster. But, without dismissing his sins, we can all agree that he is lonely and immature. Nikos learned the virtue of nonviolence as a result of his strict upbringing. Nikos has been an escapist rather than a combatant since boyhood, a propensity he would carry into his criminal years.

Nikos is introduced to Marek Stapler by Tender Roman. Nikos discovers Marek is a leader of the Polish militia after making a joke about his “stapled butt.” The crooked cop sips vodka with the prosecutors, and his wife is the head of the Department of Transportation. Nikos improves his thievery game with the assistance of Stapler. Nikos and Komo design a three-stage plan to take the automobiles from Germany, by which they mean the West.

The first portion of the story takes place while the Iron Curtain remains in place, but Nikos manages to sneak cars from the other side. He steals the tools from the other side of the border by concealing them under the car seats and pretending to trade oranges. Then, late at night, they steal cars and drive them across the border. Nikos legalizes the automobiles and sells them secondhand at a lesser price with the help of his big-league buddies (particularly Stapler).

However, he becomes overly greedy and tries to have it all. Nikos develops his company to Budapest. He also takes an interest in watches. When the guard refuses to allow him see Stapler during the 1981-1982 seasons, he buys the entire club the following year. However, Nikos is apprehended by the police. Nikos can only flee from the cops for so long.

Nikos is imprisoned for fifteen years at Tegel’s high-security prison on the verge of the 1990s. During his imprisonment, Nikos, on the other hand, devises a brilliant idea. He gains weight, gets a beard, and begins reading. Nikos plans a daring adventure, partly inspired by ‘Zorba the Great’ and partly supported by Komo. He commits suicide in order to be transported to a psychiatric facility.

Meanwhile, Nikos’ mostly silent sibling gains weight and grows a beard to appear like Nikos. During a jail visit, Komo swaps Nikos for his brother, and the prison break becomes a media sensation. However, shortly after his escape, Nikos’ mother and brother are killed in a vehicle accident, adding to Nikos’ guilt. He becomes involved in the cocaine and eventually the alcohol trades, as his associates turn against him one by one. Nikos’ reasoning is harmed by the cocaine, and his toxic girlfriend Nikita isn’t any better.

Nikos is sent back to prison for a few more years, and when he returns, Silvio is in charge of the operation. Silvio, a drug-addled Italian, poses a threat, but Nikos dispatches him. That, however, does not save Nikos. The German cop also tries to reason with Nikos, suggesting that he turn himself in while the temperature drops. Nikos’ arrogance causes him to reject the proposal. Finally, Nikos prepares for his death in a slow-burning episode at the Las Vegas Go-Go Club. He considers fleeing but changes his mind at the last minute. In the end, his pride kills him, and his cocaine addiction may have contributed to his sadness.

Who assassinated Nikos?

Although Nikos begins his business with vigour, he eventually creates a ruckus. While Waco takes up the business in Budapest, Pruszkow gangster Pershing breathes on Nikos’ neck from a previous bitter patch. While doing business with Forrester under Silvio’s nose, he also creates enemies with his erstwhile sidekick Silvio. As the narrator recalls, the identity of the killer remains a mystery. Perhaps Pershing and his Pruszkow gang assassinated Nikos because Nikos still had some control over Tricity. Furthermore, he did not follow Pershing’s plan.

Nikos could have been assassinated by another gang, the Lodz Octopus, because he showed them how to behave on his home land. Perhaps it was his bodyguards’ ambitions that Nikos was unable to satisfy. Perhaps the Tender Roman had him assassinated in order to exact vengeance on his sister. Perhaps Silvio’s friend Forrester felt betrayed when Nikos switched sides. According to the pictures, the Lodz Octopus collaborates with the Pruszkow gang to eliminate Nikos.

What Befalls Nikos’ Family? Who is the story’s narrator?

Although Nikos considers everyone to be his family, most of them (with the exception of Komo and a few others) eventually abandon him. Nikos meets his first wife, who dies shortly after giving birth to Piotrus, in the Marylka Club in Gdansk. While Nikos keeps Milena as a mistress (and she is the one who sticks by his side till the end), he remarries Halina because of her brother’s connections. When Halina learns about Milena, she divorces Nikos, but as Nikos secures a good job for Halina’s next lover, they stay in touch. Nikos marries a woman in Germany in order to get citizenship, in addition to his frequent periods with working ladies.

Meanwhile, Nikos’ sister died in 1986. In the spring of 1992, his mother and brother were killed in a vehicle accident. Nikos also begins a tangled relationship with Nikita, a concubine with an obsessive craving for cocaine. Natalka, Teresa’s daughter, eventually becomes a ballet dancer. Nikos’ son, Piotrus, is raised by Halina as well. On the anniversary of Nikos’ death, however, they do not visit his grave ritualistically. As a result, despite Nikos’ large family, it is safe to assume that Nikos discovers real love in Milena. And it’s possible that’s why Nikos leaves his “fabled fortune” for Milena, the story’s narrator.