Il ne faut jamais changer le lieu d'un rendez-vous

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

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.

This movie is a gem. I was amazed by its storytelling: at first slow, the momentum goes building on, spiralling until you finally get trapped in a never ending suspense. What would be of young Sharapov?

If I had to pick a climax scene, I would say is that when the new recruit of the Moscow Criminal Police ends up having to supper at the same table of the most dangerous Moscow criminal! The story makes here quite a twist, since previously Mr. Visotsky had stealed himself the show, without even giving a chance to his fellow partner.

Simply put, what an amazing way to tell a story.. In this movie it seems like every scriptwriter, assistant, every person in the crew carefully invested his talent and effort into creating a masterpiece. And this actually isn't a movie properly, but a TV mini-series. Having recently seen other East European works like the Dekalog (polish television) and Ironiya sudby, ili S lyogkim parom! (or the Irony of Fate) I can only conclude that the former Soviet television was able to produce a content of the utmost quality.

Having said that, I think it's such a shame that so few Western audiences (if any at all) had been exposed to Soviet culture. But I can not blame them anyway, for two reasons. First, some (and I remark "some") of this content might be ideologically flawed. Secondly, the English subtitles are really poor, and there were parts of this movie where the translation wasn't helpful at all, proving instead to be very confusing.

I'll stop here, since this is not the forum to discuss the deeper meaning of some Soviet content. I'll just recommend you to watch this movie. It's a masterpiece, greater than anything Hollywood could ever produce. Now that this movie is available on DVD from numerous sites on the Web, there's no excuse to give it a chance.

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.

This film (actually a series) is one of the best the Russian cinema has to offer. It cannot compare with the works of Eisenstein or Tarkovsky but it is an above average work of art. The fact that it is more that 4 hours long does not hinder it a bit. There are several superb performances including one by the late Vladimir Visotsky.