Die schwarze Katze

This film is a masterpiece of the Soviet cinema, comparable to the role "Godfather" has been playing in the American culture. In addition to the brilliant performance by Vladimir Vysotsky, this is an all-star movie with the best Soviet actors of the 70s--80s: Udovichenko, Evstigneev, Kuravlev, Yurski, etc. With its level of dramatism and realistic depiction of Russia of the 40s, the movie is a artistic monument to the WWII generation.

It's a wonderful example of the great Soviet movies shot for the sake of its spectators but not for the regime and its propaganda machine. Even though it does feature some of the latter, it's skillfully incorporated into the thread of the plot and can be considered as rather an indisputable trait of that time: right after the Great Patriotic War the country and its past lie in ruins, and semi-hungry weary people are left with nothing more than aspirations and hopes towards brighter future. Thus, the historical context of Moscow from that period is very natural and believable.

Although its other feature of a slowly unfolding plot might scare some people away, it lets the creators rigorously portray all the details of the detective business from back then. Additionally, it makes the story whole without contradictory bits and pieces.

Finally, it's just pleasantly exciting to watch the main two characters amazingly played by Vysotskiy and Konkin: the ups and downs of their relations, and how they overcome their irreconcilable distinctions and dissents for the sake of justice and their common goal.

The movie is by far the part of that Soviet legacy that the people of the past era are proud of. Adding to that, it is still affecting the cinematography of the modern Russia. Unfortunately, today there are cohorts of low-quality Russian films produced just as petty copies exploiting the ideas of their successor without adding anything new to them.

When I was a kid and we were playing hide and seek on the street, one of us would rush around eight o clock and find out what movie plays on TV. If he or she came out and shout "Russian movie!", we were making like a "bleah..." and continue play until dark. If a movie with John Wayne or an American movie of any sort was playing we all rushed into our homes to watch it.

Now, after thirty years or more, I rediscover part of this Russian movies, some of them magnificent, which Romanian TV was broadcasting , and I have to, I feel the need to make justice to them, even in this small way, writing a review on IMDb.

And, to be honest, when I watch right now, let's say "High noon" or a western, I am not impressed at all. But this happens with time, you become wiser and justice and true value surface eventually in your life. Dear friends, this is the single most perfect TV series about criminal police in history, and I don't need to say more. It seems written by a great Russian novelist, and I said it all.

True classics of the Soviet cinematography. Vyssotsky is brilliant, but so are Konkin, Belyavsky, Yursky, Pavlov and all the rest. A suspense, rare for the Soviet movies, is greatly mixed with philosophy. Govorukhin in his best directing effort, a true talent and professional unlike in politics.

Soviet Classics - this mini-series was made in 1979 and since that year it remains the classic and one of the all-time-favorite-films of Russian watchers. Stanislav Govorukhin made a really excellent movie. He told us a simple story of Sovie Criminal Investigation department in Moscow in 1945, with main protagonists Gleb Zheglov (played by already ailing and very weakened Vladimir Vysotsky) and Vladimir Sharapov (Vladimir Konkin) trying to catch and arrest the famous after-war gang, The Black Cat. This is a part of Russian history and very severe one. The movie is a feast of superb actors - Yurski, Sadalski, Fateeva, Zaklunnaya, Dzhigarkhanyan, Bortnik, Gerdt among many. This is a very period piece, but so timeless and so deep that it stood the test of time extremely well. It is highly recommended for all who like Soviet history and deep decent psychological drama. Watch it and you will never be sorry or bored. This one is a real feast of real-life characters and thrilling events