Vladimir Lem is a character in the Max Payne universe. Vlad has blonde hair, brown eyes, and a smooth attitude that he often uses to sweet talk his enemies.

Max Payne

Vlad plays a minor role in Max Payne 1. He is a Russian mob boss, and is waging war with Angelo Punchinello. His employee Boris Dime has betrayed him, and taken control of the Charon, a cargo ship full of weapons and artillery. If Punchinello gets those weapons, neither Vlad or Max have a hope of winning their war with him.

Vlad makes Max an offer; kill Dime and turn the ship back to Vlad's flag, and Max can have all the weapons and ammo he wants for his war with Punchinello. Max accepts, and upon killing Dime, Vlad goes through on his offer, letting Max loot the ship and seize a lot of firepower in the process.

Vlad is honorable and a stereotyped gangster in the first game. He is a mob boss, but has morals to it. He also puts on an act, often quoting from The Godfather and other movies. Max himself remarks 'You really get a kick out of this big-time gangster act, don't you?'. Vlad even goes so far as to offer Max a job working for him. He wears all black and has a subtle Russian accent. At this point, he shows no knowledge of the Inner Circle or Mona Sax.

Max Payne 2

In Max Payne 2, Vlad is an enemy. He buys the Ragna Rock nightclub and is in the process of converting it to a restaurant named Vodka in the game. Vlad also mysteriously appears throughout the game to give Max a ride in his car. His accent is slightly more noticeable, and his overall demeanor is different from the original Vlad.

Vlad claims he has abandoned the mob and gone straight. However, he is not only a member of the Inner Circle, but is also the force behind the cleaners, the mercanaries that have been trying to kill Max. He has even infiltrated the NYPD through his girlfriend Valerie Winterson, convincing her to kill Max for him. Max takes the offensive on Vlad when he realizes this, attacking Vlad's restaurant. However, Vlad is gone, headed for his next victim; Vincent 'Vinnie' Gognitti, the current mob boss.

Vlad kills Vinnie and plans to kill Alfred Woden as well, seizing a fortune in gold as well. Doing so would place Vlad in charge of the cleaners, the mob, and The Inner Circle, effectively giving him control of the underground. This, in conjunction with the gold and Vlad's restaurant, would make him quite powerful. However, Max tracks down Vlad at Woden's manor, and shoots him while Vlad is cornered on a skylight. Vlad falls three stories to the main floor, and is prompty consumed by the flames caused by his own explosives. Due to Max's assault on him, the fire, and the fall, there is little to no chance for Vlad to have survived.

Contrary to the original Vlad, the Max Payne 2 Vlad is backstabbing, trecherous and sarcastic. He is witty and smarmy, often cracking jokes and sweet talking Max with a sly smirk. He wears a white suit and carries a Desert Eagle as his main weapon, although he also uses a M4 Carbine. He has at least 2 other men overseeing his operations, not counting Boris Dime in the first game: Mike the Cowboy, who appears to be a sort of bodyguard, and Kaufman, the head of the Cleaners. He is also somewhat of a womanizer, having two known girlfriends, and expressing feelings of lust for Mona Sax. Vlad adopts an ironic catchphase 'Dearest of all my friends' for the sequel. This term of endearment is used very lightly, as Vlad calls most everybody his 'dearest friend' at some point. His final line in the game is a modified form if this phrase: 'That was...(cough, cough). Max...dearest of all my friends...I was supposed to be the hero'. Upon saying this line, Vlad falls through the skylight to his death. It is also noteworthy that in a message to Alfred Woden, Vlad remarks he is done doing Woden's work for him. This may be a reference to Vlad's actions in the first game, meaning he was another liaison between the Circle and Max. If so, Vlad may have been plotting Max's death for some time.

In Max Payne 2, Vlad's character model is Peter Giles, and his voice is provided by Jonathan Davis. In the first game, his voice is provided by Dominic Hawksley. Because Vlad does not appear outside of the graphic novels in the first game, he did not have a character model at the time.

Computer and video game villains | Max Payne | Fictional Russians | Fictional mobsters