Total balalaïka show

This 1993 concert is absolutely awesome. The Leningrad Cowboys gave the Finnish people a lot for their money. Backed by the Alexandrov Red Army Choir, they set Helsinki on fire on that night in June.

Covers of The Turtles, Bob Dylan, Tom Jones, and ZZ Top are just a small aspect of this "rockumentary". (Their version of "Those Were The Days" has to be seen to be believed)

Bravo to Kaurismaki, a world-class director who achieved something really special with this concert film. It's hard to find these days, but if you can track it down, you will be in for a serious treat.

Featuring a concert by the Leningrad Cowboys and the Alexandrov Ensemble, took place on 12 June 1993 at Senate Square in Helsinki, Finland. This event drew a crowd of approximately 70,000 people from two nations - Finland and Russia - that had been engaged in a state of "peaceful coexistence" during the Cold War, should recognize the reason why held so amicably.

I first learned of the Leningrad Cowboys from one of my mom's employees in 2002. He explained that they're a Finnish band that performs covers of famous songs, and played me some of their performances (being the sort of person that I am, I asked what the group's actual name is in Finnish).

Russia's current occupation of Ukraine makes it a bit awkward to watch Aki Kaurismäki's "Total Balalaika Show". Ignoring that, it's a fun documentary. The subject is a concert thirty years ago this month, where the Leningrad Cowboys performed with the Aleksandrov Ensemble in Helsinki, singing western pop songs and traditional Russian songs. It's a sight like you can't imagine.

We obviously hope that Russia's occupation of Ukraine eventually ends, and that peaceful relations with Russia can get restored. In the meantime, this is one fun documentary. The Criterion Collection's release includes some of the Leningrad Cowboys' music videos. Wacky stuff.

PS: Aki Kaurismäki and his brother Mika are friends with Jim Jarmusch. The cast of Jarmusch's Helsinki segment of "Night on Earth" are frequent cast members in the Kaurismäkis' movies.

Total Balalaika Show is often wrongly described as "the third Leningrad Cowboys movie". That's not really correct: the Show is, in fact, a concert, featuring the Cowboys and the Red Army Choir, which took place in Helsinki. Aki Kaurismäki, who directed the Leningrad Cowboys flicks, filmed this concert and made it known to the world.

The biggest pleasure of seeing this event is the discovery that, contrary to popular belief, the Leningrad Cowboys aren't bad at all. That's just something they made up for the movies. Just watch them as they take Helsinki by storm with their personal versions of Those Were The Days (also featured in one of Kaurismäki's short films) and Sweet Home Alabama (amazing, just amazing).

It's a really great experience, whose impact is partially diminished by one fact: Kaurismäki's version doesn't feature the entire concert, since getting the rights to certain songs (most notably Bob Dylan's Knocking On Heaven's Door) would have been too expensive. Nonetheless, what we have is a really good filmed concert, and there's plenty of fun to be had for those watching it.

Entertaining, surreal, hilarious, catchy, spectacular and just a lotta fun. Imagine meeting Lynyrd Skynyrd 30 years ago and telling them that one day "Sweet Home Alabama" would be performed by 10 guys with giant pointy shoes and giant pointy pompadours, backed by the Alexandrov Red Army Ensemble, in front of 70,000 screaming Finlandians.

It's very sweet to witness this display of unity between neighboring countries with a history of animosity. Opening with the Red Army Ensemble singing "Finlandia" and then going into "Let's Work Together" and "Happy Together" and a wonderful mix of Russian standards (I'm assuming) and western rock n' roll, it's really a joyous blend of two cultures. You can't help but smile. Although it's an oddball among Kaurismaki's deadpan narratives, it's one of his finest creations and one of the greatest concert films. The world needs more stuff like this. I'd love to visit Finland, they seem like they have a great sense of humor over there.

A fun, charming music & dance performance.