We have performed a study of elastic properties of asphaltene films on glass substrates and asphaltene coated water droplets. Such films has been studied extensively by many researchers in recent years to obtain a better understanding of complex nature of crude oil. Because of their amphiphilic nature, asphaltenes play a prominent role in the extraction and utilization of hydrocarbon resources. In our study the atomic force microscope was used for high-resolution imaging of asphaltene films and for determination of their elastic properties. The Young’s modulus for asphaltene film was found to be of 23.7±0.8 MPa and for coated water drops of about 20 kPa. The model of a linear viscoelastic membrane by Barthes-Biesel&Sgaier was applied for the estimation of resistance to breakup of droplet of water-in-oil emulsion. The application of other theoretical models known in literature for analysis of obtained data are discussed. This research is supported by the Grants of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation (11.G34.31.0040).