Bumer: Film vtoroy

First, i must say that I really enjoyed watching the Bumer. It was an interesting and original experience of Russian cinema. In short, it's one of the best movies from Russia I have ever seen (the other one for me could be 9-ya rota so far). Therefore I went to cinema with high expectations. After watching this flick of Buslov there was not a frustration, but i realized that sequel did not manage to achieve the superb level of its predecessor. More or less this was completely another kind of story. Of course, there is a strong connection with events of the first film, though you are free to watch it even if you have not seen the first Bumer. It's not a flawless movie. There were several short disturbing ''black breaks'', which made Bumer: Film vtoroy a bit spotty. Also this made the plot scattered. One excellent thing about this is soundtrack. It's truly outstanding. With scenes of todays Russia, witty dialogs, tragicomic story - it is a good movie and a must-see for fans of Bumer, although some of them may be disappointed.

Sequels are always a dilemma for directors, it's very easy to miss and Buslov gets a lot of credit for moving straight into a sequel as his next feature project.

Instead of returning to the same old story twice, Buslov wisely chose to make the story about redemption and effectively introduced a new lead in the form of Dasha, a girl that seems fated to repeat the footsteps of Kostya's gang and played masterfully by Svetlana Ustinova.

The story is sufficiently realistic, though he takes a few more chances than with the original there are no holes or dilemmas that would irritate. Casting is very high caliber and the music doesn't fail to deliver again. Cinematographically Buslov evolved to a slightly faster paced style, there is less moving camera than with the original Boomer (something I personally enjoyed), but close ups are very effectively utilized. On the other end, one or two sequences are overextended time wise, but not to the point of irritation.

Note: unlike with the Brother films of Balabanov, it does help to see Boomer 1 prior to watching this film.

I think that is the main idea of both Bumer movies.

Cops and KGB are the ultimate evil. Both movies send a message that one can not be a free and honest man/woman in Russia, without having any problems with cops. Well, of course, in the first movie, the four guys were just a regular extortionist gang… apparently, not very close to the concepts of "honesty" and "freedom", but the movie still sent a message that they were "good guys". Rama said a counter-argument: "Such are not us, such is the life around us." (1st movie).

"The life has changed" (Dimon, 2nd movie). Dimon's life has changed because he chose not to mess with cops, but rather to deal with them by their rules. That's what most of us in this country actually do every day. We don't know about laws and *beep* like that: we only know that cops are people who really love cash and are endowed with power to do anything. No law is need if you're a friend of cops, and no law will protect you if you're not.

Having earned money, he saves his friend from the jail by bribing the cops. Dimon's new life is controversial. "I don't know what I would do in a situation like that" – Cot said. After an accusation like that, Dimon thought that probably he was not completely right, although by doing what he did, he saved his own life and later a few years in the life of his friend (Cot had a 15-year sentence for armed robbery)… He realized that he had to sacrifice a large part of his honesty to this. Saving Cot's life a few minutes later, he probably restored his honesty, at least in the eyes of Cot.

Dashka is a also a controversial character. Although she's a little bitch blackmailer, her victim is a large piece of that cop and KGB *beep* (some cop chief). So, eventually, she's depicted as a warrior of truth. I won't tell you how Dashka is related to Cot (watch the movie, it's the drama and love story part of it), I'll just tell you that the two finally decided that their free souls will not be able to survive in this country, and they decided to leave it. Dashka: "And who's gonna stay here?" Cot: "-- The cops!" They wanted to escape. But the cops got them. At least they killed Cot. Dashka escaped. Cot has joined his fellows in the gangstas' paradise. Dashka went to a paradise on earth (she stole some cash and went out of the country).

Again, what's left here… The cops. It's a message to all those who live in this country. To think about it. From that point of view, the movie indeed is naturalistic. A story like that could hardly happen in reality, but the message it sends is a real one. We're not a free country. That's very important to understand.

While Bumer 1 was a trivial gangster movie with not much substance, Bumer 2 (or Heaven on Earth) is a mark of a genius. It is very subtle and to an unsuspecting viewer it may seem not much. There is a plot but not much action: no flying bullets, no blood and no revenge.

Nevertheless, today I watched it for the third time and it was even better then the first two. Do you have to be familiar with the Russian culture to understand it? Not really. If you ever felt like the system's got you or if you felt like there is no way out - you'd get it, I promise.

One of my favorite movies so far.

As a commercial film made by a young director with not at all famous actors,"Bumer 2" seems to be perfect. It's not simply a well-made criminal film. The plot development and acting are so dramatic,lyrical and natural at the same time,watching this film I couldn't believe that it's a sequel of not so well composed debut film of the same director. Sometimes this film seems a pure "arthouse"film,becouse of artistic completion of every shots and adequate atmosphere which fills up them.

It's not only the triumph of the young director Peter Buslov,but also so of the best producers of contemporary Russia(Sergei Selyanov and Sergei Chliyants) and of screenwriters(among them we can find the author of "Eiforiya",Ivan Vyrypaev). If on commercial base films of such a level continue to be made and to receive applause from ordinary moviegoers,Russian film industry will soon reach the top of the world cinema.