Akwarium

This film is one of my absolute favorites.

It is very intelligent, gripping, the plot is written brilliantly and it seems so true and original that one immediately gets an impression of watching a documentary movie. Of course, what comes with it is that it is difficult and requires full attention so I am suspecting this is why it has such a low overall rating--it is probably not just for everybody.

It is one of these very few films that one can learn an awful lot of new information and gain an absolutely new perspective on our world.

Acting is also very good in the movie while directing is not perfect but still outstanding.

The film is based on series of books by Rezun Vladimirh Boghdanovich aka "Victor Suvorov", which described true story and events. I recommend it to watch as a counterweight to action-drama entertainment movies in "James Bond' style -- not to diminish quality of the latter, but to just realize, the actual inventions in real-world spying were even more weird, than the ones of ol' good Flemming. It may be significant, that the materials for the standalone version were also remixed as six episode TV series (atleast in Poland, but I think, this was shown in Germany, Austria and Ukraine broadcasting too). Somebody commented it as "Thriller" -- the most scaring thing is, it is all true...

I really wanted to like this movie more but the acting was terrible and screenplay was horrendous.

I loved the storyline, plot, and even the extended scenes highlighting how tedious and even stressfully boring this spy business could have been! This is a serious subject that piqued my interest but the film itself is pretty mediocre.

I am confused as to how others here can call it a "masterpiece." It is a masterpiece in terms of storytelling, subject matter, and perhaps literature (I have not read the book(s)), but the film adaptation felt like 2 hours going on eternity!

It is worth watching but don't buy this for your collection...

It was very good. The story is very engaging and the actors did a very good job. A bit disappointed about the lengths I had to go through to obtain this movie with English subtitles.

Based on an autobiography of a senior intelligence officer of Soviet GRU. It is a Polish-German-Ukrainian co-production and it is interesting that it is now very difficult to get a copy of this film - too close to the inconvenient truth? If you can get it with English subtitles - definitely see it, it is on pair with the best espionage thrillers. It shows a normal person being gradually pulled into ever more secret circles of the Soviet Military Intelligence, where to remain human becomes increasingly difficult. The rules are cruel, nobody is your friend - even if they appear to be so - and everyone is watching you. Top acting, well told (real) story, and a true and disturbing picture of life behind the Iron Curtain make this one a top movie. Janusz Gajos is excellent in his role - he stars as an experienced GRU officer, a mentor for the main character.