Boris Pavlikovsky and Victor Cherry

Boris Pavlikovsky and Victor Cherry, a Ukrainian-Russian criminal associate nicknamed 'Cherry,' form a crucial partnership to recover the stolen Fabritius painting from the Amsterdam underworld. Cherry, a man with a broad, knowing face and a small prim mouth, is introduced as a trusted contact who owes Boris a significant debt. He is described as having a wry alertness that calms Theo during the chaotic planning, and he is instrumental in setting up the meeting with the thieves who currently hold the painting.

The Heist and Its Aftermath

Cherry orchestrates the ambush at the Purple Cow cafe, where he and Boris, along with Gyuri and Shirley Temple, overpower the two men guarding the painting. Cherry personally knocks out the older man, Grozdan, with a pistol butt, then retrieves the painting from a dirty broom closet. He also discovers and disables a sawed-off shotgun hidden under a table, preventing a potential massacre. After the heist, Cherry, Boris, and the others celebrate in the car, with Cherry recounting how he forced Grozdan to lead him to the painting at gunpoint. He later tells a story about how Boris saved him from a serious crime by tracking down a slimebag in Antwerp, a debt he feels he can never fully repay.

The Reward Scheme

After the shootout in the parking garage, where Martin and Frits are killed and the painting is lost again, Cherry helps Boris devise a new plan. Boris, inspired by Theo's earlier suggestion to call the art police, decides to claim the reward money for the painting's return. Cherry's contact, Anton van den Brink, a clean-cut Dutch citizen, is used to plant a doctored folder containing photos of the painting and a fake Frankfurt address, leading the police directly to Sascha's apartment. This scheme results in the recovery of not only the Goldfinch but also dozens of other stolen masterpieces, and the payment of a massive reward. Cherry receives a fifteen percent cut of the reward money, which Boris acknowledges as fair compensation for his work.

Significance

The partnership between Boris and Cherry is the engine that drives the painting's recovery. Cherry's underworld connections, tactical skills, and loyalty to Boris are essential for executing the heist and the subsequent reward scheme. Their relationship, built on mutual debt and trust, contrasts with the more transactional and dangerous alliances in the criminal world, ultimately enabling the return of the painting and a measure of redemption for Boris.