2017 | R |1h 47min Writer-director Armando Iannucci, who created HBO’s political satire “Veep,” has with “The Death of Stalin” created a period satire that shines a light on the scrambling, flailing, and power grabs of the political cockroaches and cronies in Joseph Stalin’s inner circle, immediately following his death. It feels pretty timely in light of our current political chaos. The events surrounding the 1953 death of Stalin (Adrian McLoughlin)—the second leader of the Soviet Union—starts off with a scene in a concert hall, where a piano concerto has just been performed. Stalin, who’d been listening to it on the radio, calls up the concert venue and demands a recording. However, nobody’d thought to make a recording, so the horrified sound engineer rushes out and bullies the departing crowd back into their seats, and wheedles, cajoles, and threatens the pianist (Olga Kurylenko) to re-do the whole concert. Saying “no” to comrade …