John Wick 1

n New York City, John Wick is grieving the death of his wife Helen, who had arranged for him to receive a beagle puppy to help cope with his loss. A few days later, a group of Russian gangsters, led by Iosef Tarasov, accost John at a gas station and fail to intimidate him into selling them his 1969 Boss 429 Mustang. 

That night, they break into John’s home, assault him, kill the puppy, and steal the car. Iosef takes the Mustang to a chop shop to remove its identifying details, but the shop owner, Aurelio, recognizes it and refuses service. Aurelio informs John that Iosef is the son of Viggo Tarasov, the boss of New York City’s Russian mafia.

Upon learning of his son’s actions, Viggo berates Iosef for incurring John’s wrath. He reveals John was once a hitman in his employ, and was renowned and feared in the criminal underworld as the Baba Yaga, a ruthless, relentless “man of focus, commitment, and sheer will”. After John fell in love with Helen, a civilian, Viggo gave him a seemingly impossible task to earn his freedom; he succeeded.