Matrioshki - le trafic de la honte

This series takes you deep into the Belgium Underworld. Murder, assault, extortion, but above all: women trade for the sex industry. The series starts in Russia and the east of Europe where women are recruited with false promises and stories by a group of Belgium criminals. This group exploits a sex club back in Belgium and they intend to let the recruited girls strip and work as prostitutes or else sell them to business associates. The club has always been top of the bill until the new group of girls starts to rebel against their 'owners'.

THe series has a lot of violence, strong language, and nudity and is therefore very realistic. The use of different languages and dialects only adds to this.. But unless you speak Russian, English (with strong Belgium and/or Russian accents), and "Flemish Dutch", subtitles are a 'must'.

All in all a great series, if you enjoy series like the Soprano's and Oz.

This fine Belgian series deals with an issue that has become so common in today's Europe. Eastern European girls and women are promised a decent job in the West, but they end up as prostitutes. Girls' credulity and and poor conditions in homeland lead its victims into modern slave trade business. It will be very easy to guess where the word 'slave' has come as it did not originally mean 'slave'.

Girls who have ended up into business have no other chance than to obey their masters and this is also shown in the series. There are however some cunning girls who attempt to escape their fate, but not much is there to do. Girls also have different attitudes towards their work. Yes - there are some, like a Russian girl named Kalinka, who don't think it's eventually bad to become stripper, if they have it no way better at home. But there are also girls like Lithuanian Daria, who is totally against the business and only wants to get back home. Some girls think they have found a boyfriend in their pimps, but are unfortunately mistaken. They all realize before long that they are just used for the business like batteries and then thrown away.

I've never seen anything like this on television and it may well be my first Belgian series I ever seen. Matroesjka's category is crime, but it presents the crime from victims viewpoint. It gives a completely different view to the world of prostitution than Boogie Nights does., though both are great in their own sense. Matroesjka's does not contain moralizing overtones, for it just tells a plain story of these women. There are even found 'goodies' in the pimps too, or lesser evils anyway. Everything in Matroesjka's is very enjoyable viewing, for some of the girls are really cool when they try to rise above their inhuman conditions.

I agree that it is a good and very realistic film. It should be shown on TV in all Eastern European countries, so that the girls who might be tempted to go to the West, would know what to expect. However, I would like to ask a question to the previous commenting viewer who said that in this film "we see the positive and negative sides of buying and selling women.." POSITIVE sides? Excuse me, what are the positive sides of a slave trade? Maybe you didn't mean it, but your statement sounds like coming from somebody who regularly uses that sort of parlours and does not mind if those who "work" there, are being abused - as long as he gets "what he paid for". Very sad to read.

I'm currently watching this series of SBS TV in Australia. We're currently in between episodes 7 & 8.

I really cannot speak highly enough of this series. I'd give a run through of the general plot but that has already been well and truly canvassed by previous posters.

This series is streets ahead of US and most Australian dramas in the same vein. When I watch a US drama like this I find it they often come across as fake and over the top. Matroesjka's, or Russian Dolls as it is translated into English manages to maintain a high level of excitement and keep the viewers interest whilst keeping entirely realistic and believable, offering an honest portrayal of the plight of Eastern European sex slaves.

I really hope that this series is put to DVD, with English subtitles. In Australia we are lucky to have a brilliant team of subtitlers at SBS TV, it'd be nice if SBS acquired the rights to produce a DVD, wishful thinking no doubt.

If this is the standard of Belgian TV, then I'd better book myself a plane ticket.

Wow!! The first Belgium TV series I've seen & i'm already impressed by the 1st episode. The production standards were indeed high. And the subject matter...Wheewe! Heavy stuff. Now that is what television should do, educate, while entertain (for want of a better word). We always read about the European slave trade with girls vanishing from Eastern European countries & I've seen a few documentaries on the subject, but to see it scripted as a drama is altogether another thing. I must express my ignorance in that i didn't realise that criminals from Belgium were involved, I thought it was mainly a Russian mafia thing.

Very impressed & I'm glad we have a station like SBS that show intelligent programs like this from around the world. I definitely will track down the DVD & lend to friends too lazy to watch it late on Friday nights.

The Danish crime show, Rejseholdet is also screening & is also of high standard. The stories are more realistic & don't necessarily end upbeat like the US shows. More meat & potatoes than fairy floss.

Do these kind of programs ever show on US television?

Fantastic, I just had to vent my approval somewhere... Ha!