La prédiction

Only one scene in this movie is very good: the one where Roman Kartsev offers Basilashvili to set fire to himself in protest against I forgot what. That was simply hilarious. In contrast, the rest of the movie is dreary and almost unbearable. Watch that one scene and skip the rest of the movie.

This is a very unsatisfying and heterogeneous movie,a hotchpotch;its main deficiency is the script,the story,which is weak,stupid,cheap,and of too many sorts:it starts as a fantastic movie,it goes on as a crime movie,then as a love story,then as cheap melodrama.The director did not know what he wanted with his paranoiac movie (the lead is tracked by communists,Nazis,Mafiosi).Nonetheless,we get some quality acting (some good performances are the only thing that holds),and the Mrs. Jacob nude scene.

The movie begins rather well (the villainous virologist,etc.),then it flops.It has too many defects.The director bets on schmaltz.

The messy script finally ruins the film.The lack of coherence does the same.

The older "Oleg" ( Basilashvili) was a miscast.How would a woman like Mrs. Jacob fall in love with this tedious,insipid,unfit old-timer who looks like an old wife?