There is a pivotal scene in “The Equalizer” when Denzel Washington's Robert McCall confronts the film’s antagonist, an enforcer for the Russian crime syndicate named Teddy Rensen aka Nicolai (Marton Csokas). Having taken out the mafia’s money laundering warehouse, McCall gives Teddy a way out: call off the criminal operation, and he’ll stop.
After sharing a Russian story about a boy who killed his parents, McCall leaves with this: “I've done some bad things in my life, Nicolai. Things I'm not proud of. I promised someone I love very much that I would never go back to being that person. But for you, I'll make an exception.”
