Character Analysis
A top hat, round spectacles, a stylish mustache-beard combo, a cane, and even a cat-as-accessory—Kovacs is the definition of high-class. From the way he speaks, we know right away that he's an intelligent man—after all, he's played by Jeff "Chaos Theory" Goldblum. Though at first his connection with the Desgoffe and the Hotel may seem sinister, when he assumes Gustave's innocence and begins resisting Dmitri, we know he's on the side of right.
Even though he goes from sketchy to honorable in the viewer's opinion, Kovacs isn't really a rounded character. He's actually used as a bit of foreshadowing, subtly hinting at whom the Hotel's "mysterious proprietor" might be—Kovacs is introduced as the "executor of the dead widow's estate."
What we know of Kovacs is this: He has quite a flair for the dramatic. During the reading of the will he appears to silence the room with his hands before he begins… though no one seems to be talking in the first place. While reading the will, he's not only very proper, but also seems to enjoy creating an atmosphere of suspense.
It's fitting, then, that poor Kovacs meets his untimely end in one of the most suspenseful scenes in the film… and also one of the most baffling.
Why he chooses to get off at a lonely museum and then proceed to walk around its isolated corridors in order to escape the murderous thug chasing him is beyond us. Come on Kovacs—why not head to the city and the safety of your home, or to a police station? Alas, Kovacs was destined to end up four fingers short and "stuffed in a sarcophagus behind a storage room." Womp womp.