Bullets

Finland is a country that does not strictly belong to the Scandinavian nations mainly due to its peculiar language which doesn't share many common characteristics with Swedish or Danish, and secondly because of its cultural development that doesn't resemble the other Nordic countries. The same, of course, can be said about Iceland which also has its distinct cultural tradition. We nowadays tend to use the term Nordic when talking about the five countries: Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland. Nevertheless, there are many Finnish contributions in the ever-evolving Nordic noir phenomenon and one of the brightest examples is Bullets . a 10-part TV show with a storyline full of potential and a cast of noted Finnish thespians.

Krista Kosonen ( Blade Runner 2049 , Beforeigners ) is the main protagonist of the series, playing Mari Saari, a secret service super-agent who mourns for the loss of her friend during a police operation that constitutes the show's first scene. Furthermore., there is Sibel Kekilli, the German actress of Turkish origin that we saw in the early seasons of Game of Thrones , who portrays Madina Taburova, a Chechen woman who became radicalized during the war with the Russians and now recruits young girls to take part in terrorist attacks throughout Europe. Tommi Korpela is the middle-aged police investigator who helps Mari with her work, a man having family troubles and a teenage daughter that doesn't seem to like him. We also have the opportunity to see a familiar face in the role of the villain/antagonist, Dragomir -"Gago"- Mrsic, the Yugoslavian actor that we first met in the Easy Money ( Snabba Cash ) trilogy, as the brutal henchman Mrado, and more recently in Viaplay's crime TV series, Alex .

The plot involves Mari working as an undercover agent in order to meet and befriend Taburova who is suspected to plan the next terrorist attack soon in the Finnish soil. Mari will pose as a social worker who becomes responsible for the Chechen immigrant Taburova and gradually she earns Madina's trust as she helps her deal with personal problems. Madina also has a tragic past which is revealed gradually, through the use of flashbacks, to the audience and has a daughter that she was forced to abandon in Chechnya, more than fifteen years ago.

Bullets is a TV show that features lots of action and plenty of times we admire Mari's skills in martial arts in fighting sequences. But, what this show strives for is to show how difficult is to judge its characters who are repeatedly making questionable, in terms of ethics and morality, decisions because of extreme circumstances. It is evident that the creators didn't want a Hollywood-style action show based on the dazzling special effects, but a series that would portray, as honestly as possible, the impossible dilemmas and extremist actions committed by certain people that we quickly label as "terrorists" ignoring their personal histories and life dramas. But did they succeed in Bullets?

I think that each viewer should answer truthfully to this question and if the response is positive, then the series should be considered as a success. I haven't heard anything about a second season being on production, but I think it would be interesting to see what a sequel season has in store for the main characters.

I found this a refreshing and riveting divergence from the many so called " Scandi/Nordic Noir " series , many of which, but not all , are very good viewing and some excellent viewing . This one departs from , what has become a boring storyline , of the Detective / Journalist / Lawyer returning to their hometown , for whatever reasons ( usually a funeral ) and becoming enveloped in some long dormant or fresh crime which requires them to prolong their visit . This is a completely different plot based more on Terrorist Crimes as opposed to the usual array of sexual deviant crimes and I couldnt wait to see the next episode . Despite some obvious and unbelievable scenarios and the Finnish Security/Intelligence Services being so under manned that the had to co-opt Rag , Tag and Bobtail from the Drugs Squad , it had the making of an excellent thriller but , trying not to give any spoilers in what is still a very watchable series , in my opinion it got clogged down in sentimentality and over did the " what makes people do this " excuses . Still a good watch but , for me , it became a bit of a let down as the " noir " became pink Rose's

I found this tv show to be rather decent. It struck me as less superficial than is more common in a lot of the show plots used today. The culture seemed to be a little different than one might be accustomed to in the US, but I found it rather interesting to watch.

... the number if flaws and inconsistencies, specifically in the last two episodes, was disappointing. By the way: Russians talk Russian with each other.

Loved the show. It's gripping from the beginning all the way too the end. A must watch