Zhmurki

The movie shows how modern authority figures gained their power and capital. A lot of them came from not so clean jobs and the movies shows details of that.

Two guys - Simon (Duzhev) and Sergey (Aleksey Panin) - are working for a local mobster (Mikhalkov) as negotiators (extortion specialists actually) and killers. They are not brain surgeons and are quick to pull out a gun, which always puts them in different awkward situations. Considering there are competitors such as crooked cop, local dumb criminals and other low-life element, Simon and Sergey are in for a fun ride... Expect lot of gunshots and a sea of blood.

The movie has gathered a great number of Russian cinema stars even in episodic roles (Andrey Panin is an architect, Andrey Krasko is an unlucky neighbor, Dmitriy Pevtzov is a drug-dealing lawyer, etc.), which makes the movie so much fun to watch. Under a virtuoso management of the director Aleksey Balaganov all characters are simply dumb and extremely standardized, which makes it look like a joke.

Just like Guy Ritchie's movies this one can not really be taken too seriously. On the other hand it's too much dark humor and too much blood to be considered a comedy.

Just keep in mind that it is a true biography of some today's Russian politicians. Perhaps, that will leave you thinking.

p.s. "The Russian Ethiopian" is absolutely hilarious!

This is one of those hate it or love it movies. I personally love this film.For one the dialogue is witty, moronic and amazing at the same time. The acting is nicely done, the soundtrack is amazing as usual. All in all, the life of crime during the 90's in provincial Russia is accurately portrayed.The action scenes are great and plentiful so its easy to pay attention. Not like its trying to deliver a philosophical message. The plot is very simple and the characters are memorable.If however,you are a sensitive viewer, stay away. There is a generous amount of graphic violence, torture, politically incorrect ideas and mild language. If you are a cynic or a Russian angry at the government of the time and this kind of material brings back bad memories, the black humour in this film will not be to your liking, so pass this one up. But if your are looking for a fun way to spend a little less than two hours, don't mind some blood and have an open mind, give this a try.

This is one of the best Russian comedies I have seen in a while. Russian comedy can be a bit too subtle or sappy sometimes and as a result not very accessible to the foreign viewer. This movie doesn't have that problem, although it is obvious that a lot of the humor is still lost in the translation, even more so if the movie is dubbed. The comedy is brutal and unapologetic. In fact, there were times that I thought the violence was a bit too much, even for a dark comedy. If you don't have a stomach for violence, you will likely not be able to enjoy this film.

Loved Nikita Mikhalkov's performance in this film. I think this is the first comedy I have seen him in and he makes a great comedic actor. The scene between him and the architect was probably the funniest for me. The poor, poor Russian middle class, they have always gotten the short end of the stick.

This movie is not a fictitious brainwash like "Reservoir Dogs" or "Pulp Fiction" (personally got nothing against both these entertaining titles but they are made for fun) - it's more like a history lesson, more like "Tora! Tora! Tora!". It would be so funny, if it were not so tragic. It is one of a very few modern Russian films, which deserve respect and consideration. Don't let the bloody scenes distract your attention from the essential ideas. "Nightmare, bloody festival, ridiculous mess-up..."? No way. It's our reality. Get a load, if you can carry.

A little boy's visit to the morgue and his father's words at the very beginning of the movie are priceless.

9 out of 10 easily (minus 1 point, because it's a very "national" experience, which, foreigners will not be able to grasp and evaluate properly). Thank you for attention.

As several other posts mentioned, this film is sort of like a Russian version of Snatch. This is no masterpiece, but it is fun to watch, as long as the cartoonish violence does not turn you off. As others mentioned before, this truly is a collection of Russian acting talent. I don't remember Mikhalkov having so much fun playing a bad guy since Svoi sredi chuzhih, chuzhoi sredi svoih, I haven't seen Statskiy Sovetnik yet , I hear he is quite good in that. To me personally it was fun to compare and contrast the way Zhmurki portrayed the 1990s Russia versus Brigada and Bumer. It is a shame that this movie will not be widely available in USA, because I think it is on par with all the Asian gangster flicks Blockbuster seems to be stocking up on.