The next generation of Romanian filmmaking talent finally arrives in the U.S. with Paul Negoescu and  Two Lottery Tickets. A buddy comedy produced on a shoestring budget, starring three of the most recognizable faces in Romanian movies, Two Lottery Tickets suggests Pineapple Express by way of Abbas Kiarostami. A winsome, riotous comedy of errors, Negoescu’s second feature is an audience-friendly social satire that merges a stoner’s shaggy-dog story with the sophisticated, intensely realistic style that has made the Romania cinema one of the most popular national film movements in the world. Dragoș Bucur plays against type as Sile, an irresponsible carpenter who spends most afternoons at the pub, placing small bets, racking up a huge tab, and buying lottery tickets. He convinces his drinking buddy Dinel (Dorian Boguță), whose wife has just left him for an Italian, to play the lottery one hot afternoon. Borrowing a few Euro from Pompiliu (Alexandru Papadopol), the local conspiracy theorist, Dinel plays the numbers on the off chance that a win would bring back his wife. After two petty criminals jack his fanny-pack and the winning ticket, the three guys spend what little money they have tracking down the thieves.