Brooklyn’s $30M Russian Oligarch Mansion Steals the Show in Oscar-Winning Film “Anora

Brooklyn’s $30M Russian Oligarch Mansion Steals the Show in Oscar-Winning Film “Anora”

By: Fern Sidman

The dazzling spectacle of opulence that plays a central role in the Oscar-winning film Anora may be the stuff of fiction, but the over-the-top mansion at its heart is very much real. Once priced at a staggering $30 million, this 14,000-square-foot Mill Basin estate—once owned by a Russian heiress dubbed “Russia’s Paris Hilton”—has now captured the attention of movie buffs and luxury real estate enthusiasts alike. As The New York Post reported on Monday, the mansion’s journey from a billionaire’s retreat to a cinematic showpiece offers a rare glimpse into an elite enclave of Brooklyn few outsiders ever see.

Directed by Sean Baker, who took home the Academy Award for Best Director, Anora tells the story of Ani (played by Mikey Madison, who also won Best Actress), a Brooklyn stripper who becomes entangled in a whirlwind romance with Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the reckless son of a Russian billionaire. According to the information provided in The New York Post report, much of their tumultuous love affair unfolds within this palatial estate, a setting Baker discovered by Googling “the biggest and best mansion in Brighton Beach.” Though he missed Brighton Beach by a few miles, landing instead in the waterfront neighborhood of Mill Basin, the find was fortuitous: The house had been built by a real Russian oligarch, making it an uncanny, real-life embodiment of the film’s themes of excess and privilege.

The mansion at 2458 National Drive is nothing short of breathtaking. As The New York Post report described, its grandiose design—featuring limestone, stucco, and dark glass—resembles a hybrid between a Miami drug lord’s palace and a futuristic fortress. Inside, it is an unabashed celebration of excess, a labyrinth of marble and mirrors that served as a perfect visual metaphor for the high-stakes, high-drama world of Anora.

The home is currently owned by Michael Davidoff, a New York-based financier born to Russian immigrant parents, who nearly declined Baker’s request to use the estate. The New York Post report revealed that Davidoff, who lives in the mansion with his wife and seven children (ranging in age from 20-month-old twins to a 25-year-old), was initially reluctant to lease it out. However, after learning of the film’s budget constraints and negotiating a lucrative filming fee—reportedly around $30,000 per day for nearly a month of production—he reconsidered.

“At first, I didn’t want to do it because it was a low-budget movie,” Davidoff admitted to The New York Post, skeptical after previously renting the mansion to more extravagant productions. “I was kind of skeptical because I had movies shot there [before] and they weren’t low budget. But then I said to myself, ‘You know what, I really like the director and his crew.’ And then I felt very comfortable with them.”

For Baker and his team, the mansion was a dream location. The New York Post report detailed how the director marveled at the authenticity of the setting—built by Russian wealth, reflecting an extravagant aesthetic that seamlessly matched the film’s themes. Even for a filmmaker known for capturing raw, lived-in environments, Anora’s mansion was a rare, serendipitous find.

Mill Basin, where the estate is located, has long been a quiet stronghold of Russian wealth in New York City. Unlike the more well-known Russian enclaves of Brighton Beach or Sheepshead Bay, Mill Basin is a secluded, waterfront neighborhood where multimillion-dollar mansions, private docks, and sprawling estates sit hidden from public view. As The New York Post report pointed out, the presence of such homes in Brooklyn is surprising to many, given that Manhattan typically dominates discussions of luxury real estate. However, this particular mansion—now immortalized on the silver screen—has drawn renewed attention to Mill Basin’s status as an enclave of old-world extravagance.

Inside the estate, opulence knows no bounds. The property boasts five bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, a 1,000-square-foot swimming pool, a home theater, staff quarters, and even a garage stocked with luxury cars, which made an on-screen appearance in Anora. The New York Post report described a home draped in leather walls, featuring an expansive spa, and a grand pavilion seating 40 people, all wrapped in acres of European marble.

“There were so many rooms we didn’t even use,” production designer Stephen Phelps told Curbed, as cited by The New York Post. Exploring the property was like “unearthing a lost kingdom,” he recalled, emphasizing that Baker’s film crew left most of the home’s over-the-top decor untouched. From surreal statues to gilded paintings, the house itself already exuded the oligarch aesthetic that Anora aimed to capture. “The style and the choices that were made in the construction feel real,” Phelps added.

But beyond its cinematic appeal, the mansion carries a rich and storied past. As The New York Post reported, it was once home to Anna Anisimova, a socialite once dubbed “Russia’s Paris Hilton” by New York Magazine. Now known as Anna Schafer, a Los Angeles-based skincare entrepreneur and aspiring actress, she recalls the moment her billionaire father, Vasily Anisimov, purchased the home in 1996 in a transaction worthy of a Hollywood script.

“My dad was like, ‘Can we knock?’” Schafer recalled to Curbed, as reported by The New York Post. The Anisimovs had been driving through Mill Basin with a real estate broker when they spotted the house. The unsuspecting homeowners answered the gate, and Vasily Anisimov jokingly asked, “Do you want to sell your house to me?” What followed was an unexpectedly surreal negotiation: the families shared dinner that night, and then a sleepover—the Anisimovs inside the mansion, and the original owners aboard their yacht.

Anisimov, a former judo partner of Vladimir Putin who built his fortune in aluminum before pivoting to real estate, was drawn to the property’s extreme seclusion. “There’s no through traffic,” Schafer told Curbed, as per the report in The New York Post. “I think my dad liked how secluded it was and how private it was.”

The seller, John Rosatti, was a Brooklyn-born yacht dealer and auto magnate worth an estimated $400 million as of three years ago, according to The New York Post. Rosatti had originally built the house in 1989, but after a dispute over a deck built atop protected wetlands, he sold it to Anisimov for $3 million. Rosatti, a man who once owned a 162-foot yacht named Remember When—a nod to The Sopranos—left behind a property that would become one of Brooklyn’s most talked-about estates.

In 2003, Anisimov’s wife, Galina, undertook a lavish renovation, adding an entire third floor and importing European marble to design what Schafer still remembers as an extravagant primary suite overlooking the bay. “That was my mom’s room,” Schafer recalled, as quoted by The New York Post. Summers at the estate were a dream, filled with Jet Ski rides and luxurious waterfront living. “It wasn’t a terrible childhood,” Schafer quipped. “It was very free.”

However, the fairy tale didn’t last. After Schafer and her sister moved out of New York, the family put the house on the market in 2013 for $30 million. The listing languished, and instead of admiration, the mansion became a punchline, ridiculed for its gaudy excess and links to Russian oligarchy. According to The New York Post report, these headlines devastated Galina, who had once poured her heart into the mansion’s lavish makeover.

By 2018, the mansion sold for $10 million to an LLC. Three years later, in 2021, financier Michael Davidoff and his family purchased it for $7.2 million, a fraction of its original asking price.

Local real estate broker Doreen Alfano of Bergen Basin Realty, who has long tracked Mill Basin’s elite market, confirmed to The New York Post that the property was indeed Anisimova’s teenage home. She also emphasized the unique appeal of Mill Basin, an exclusive peninsula jutting into Jamaica Bay, where private docks and luxury yachts are as common as corner bodegas elsewhere in Brooklyn.

“The bigger the house, the bigger the price tag,” Alfano told The New York Post, noting that properties start at $2.5 million and can climb into the tens of millions. Despite its exclusivity, the neighborhood remains a trek—45 minutes by car to Manhattan, with the Midwood subway station a 14-minute drive away. However, its perks, including proximity to Coney Island, Rockaway Beach, and Lindower Park’s ballfields and pools, make it an appealing escape for those who can afford it.

Mill Basin’s cultural tapestry adds to its allure. As The New York Post report highlighted, Italian-Americans mingle with Orthodox Jews, Russian immigrants, Israelis, and even Pakistani restaurateurs, creating a melting pot of global influences. “There’s a big Russian community, Muslims,” Alfano said. “There’s Greek food, French food. And the schools are great.” While most homes in the area average $1 million, the mansion in Anora stands apart—a relic of extravagant wealth now reborn as a symbol of Hollywood excellence.

For Alfano, who played a role in bringing Anora to life, the film’s Oscar win was personal. “I was really proud because I knew every single inch of that house,” she told The New York Post. Alfano recalled how the film’s location scout first contacted her about the estate, which, at the time, had just been sold to Davidoff. The previous owners, who lived in Russia, had little involvement in its transition to a film set. “It was a matter of … ‘will the new owner be okay with it?’ And he most certainly was.”

Davidoff, who purchased the mansion in 2021 for $7.2 million, initially had no idea what kind of film was about to be made inside his home. “I really didn’t know exactly what the film was about,” he admitted to The New York Post. But after watching Anora, he was stunned. “And then when I saw it, I’m like, ‘He has to win an Oscar for this movie.’ And that’s exactly what happened.”

During production, Davidoff was more than just a landlord—he welcomed the cast and crew into his world. According to the information contained in The New York Post report, he even allowed cast members to stay overnight in the mansion and use his personal luxury cars, which ended up in key scenes of the film. Now, he plans to celebrate the movie’s success with a private dinner with director Sean Baker and his wife, Samantha.

While Davidoff had been content with his previous home, it was his wife who convinced him to seize the opportunity to buy the mansion. “When I found out this [home] was for sale, I’m like, ‘You know what? I have to grab it because it’s the jewel of New York City,’” he told The New York Post. “There’s nothing like it. Nothing in the five boroughs that I have seen.”

While previous owners have hinted at regret over selling the mansion, Davidoff has made no changes to its one-of-a-kind architecture. “This house is out of the ordinary. It is not an ordinary house,” he emphasized to The New York Post. “I haven’t changed [anything]. Not one single thing. Because I love the architecture. The architecture is very rare. For those times. And I’m talking about 20 years ago.”

He went on to describe the home’s bespoke craftsmanship, explaining that every single element was carefully curated from around the world. “Whoever goes in that house, they fall in love with every single instrument. From the floors down to every single oak or straw or furniture,” he said. “Every little single thing is custom made. Nothing that you could find in the local stores. And every piece comes from all parts of the world.”

Now, with Anora bringing global attention to the mansion, The New York Post report indicated that its legacy has transformed. Once an exclusive hideaway for Russian billionaires, it has now entered the realm of pop culture, immortalized on the silver screen. Whether or not its current owner expected it, 2458 National Drive is now more than just a home—it’s a piece of cinematic history.