tags: drama, police procedural, Stalin era Russia, thriller
Anyone who romanticizes communism and the mass murderer Stalin should have his/her head examined, look up history, and watch this film. It is not perfect but I still recommend it.
Wiki for plot summary with spoilers
Set in Stalinist-era Russia, this gritty drama centers on Leo Demidov, a dutiful member of the secret police who becomes a government target when he begins investigating a string of brutal child murders.Bad fake accents normally make me cringe but this movie made me disregard it completely because it tells a very effective cautionary tale of being under a communist government. The subject of serial child murders is just there to show how repressive a police state is. I also like that the child abductions/murders are not graphic. Anyone who opposes the government will be sent to the gulag, killed, or charged with being a spy and eventually punished. Every citizen is scared of the Ministry of State Security personnel including their spouses as revealed by Leo's wife Raisa at the last fourth of the film.
Anyone who romanticizes communism and the mass murderer Stalin should have his/her head examined, look up history, and watch this film. It is not perfect but I still recommend it.
Wiki for plot summary with spoilers
