Chekist

A small Russian town in the early 1900's is the backdrop for this deeply disturbing film about a group of communist revolutionaries called the cheka-men who spend their days rounding up their political rivals for execution.

The majority of the film takes place inside the basement of a charnel house. We are witnesses to execution after execution as people are killed with rapid expediency and professionalism. Men, women and children are forced to strip, stand against a wall, and then are shot. When the dead are removed, five more are brought in and the atrocity is committed again.

There is not a moments reprieve from the brutality as director Rogozhkin plants the camera and the story inside that basement. I found his examination of the assassin's mindset most interesting. Early on, the cheka-men seem indifferent to their jobs, but as the film winds down, we see that all the killing has slowly begun to erode their very souls.

Igor Sergeyev is amazing as the ambitious chekist who finds himself caught up in a machine of death that he helped to create and slowly losing his mind.

The film is like passing a car accident on a highway, it's horrible and you might not like what you see but you can't take your eyes off of it. A disturbing film that is hard to forget.

This very heavy movie is based on a mostly documented book by a communist writer, who was observing this kind of events when he was working between real chekists in a real Russian town shortly after October 1917 revolution. At that time, before 1923, the young writer/journalist was thinking that the revolutionary books should show true life. Soon he has been explained about his mistake. Himself did not survive 1937, was executed when a much more extended murder of Soviet people was organized; but we have got a book, published 52 years after the author death, and, later, this movie, showing what he was observing in the very early years of Soviet Union. Due to the personal involvement of the author, practically participating in the events, psychological conflicts inside of a person (main "hero" of the movie) are shown. It is clearly seen, that not only those, killed by dozens in cellars cannot survive the "revolution", but also murderers will not be able to stay human and keep consciousness and reason, when are involved in such atrocities.

I have seen this movie, and must say that it is what someone sees on the brink of madness. The only qualm i had was its portrayal of the officer as the hero. He was made out to look the part as a good guy, where in reality he made the decisions. Is not an officer above the law more responsible for his decisions then his brethren, only to fall short of some fictitious reality??? He shows release by death and this death is not real, a trophy for a killer giving path to a monolithic person above billions of disappeared. My personifage of this character is simply this, the fear of all fears is one's mind. Not to be the judgementor, but the movie screams terror far surpassing the characters in Jacob's ladder, or even apocalypse now in lunacy. This man is a destroyer of world's yet lives like a rat knawing for air. The headless horseman, the idle terror that lurks in the minds of others to have one struck down by this "idol." An idol who does this for a job does all that has come before it and has deserved his mother's supper. An elaborate decadence on part of the fugitive. This movie shows that fear IS the mind killer without one word. Signifying a gang. Much like Rumblefish yet the officer's character is in league with any I have not seen as of yet. This personality is generosity of a sick nature put to life. If murderers can move about their daily tasks, climb ahead spiritually, why not humble men? a better question, why not the telemarketing machine that is Hollywood? Hence the great purge prior to the Jewish holocaust of killing nearly 1 million semite aryan civilians by the jews, turks and dravidians of our modern age is indeed true. If you like this movie, try leo tolstoy, for russians have the uncanny ability of recreating history with unbelievable realistic incarnations of their own past.

This is a really well made and honest movie, not some spielberg rubbish to deliberately create guilt by as part of the greater cash cow for a bunch of religeous and racial exceptionalists.

It's funny to see Russians/pro-Russians on here getting triggered by a film that makes good ol' mother Russia look bad, claiming that it's somehow 'evil Western propaganda'. The film is A RUSSIAN FILM. Created by Russians, based on a book written by a Russian, and about a Russian tragedy that they themselves created. The reason you're so upset with this, the reason you're so angry, is because a film like this somehow managed to slip through the cracks of the Russian terror machine and expose to the world what the Soviet experiment was all about - the accusing and murder of anyone they didn't like. That's a theme that continues to this day in Russia, if you don't like the government you're either shot or never seen again. Boris Nemtsov, Alexander Litvenenko, Alexei Navalny, anyone. Frankly you should be happy you're reading this outside Russia and being able to comment here freely.