Chekist

This is a really well made and honest movie, not some spielberg rubbish to deliberately create guilt by as part of the greater cash cow for a bunch of religeous and racial exceptionalists.

A small Russian town in the early 1900's is the backdrop for this deeply disturbing film about a group of communist revolutionaries called the cheka-men who spend their days rounding up their political rivals for execution.

The majority of the film takes place inside the basement of a charnel house. We are witnesses to execution after execution as people are killed with rapid expediency and professionalism. Men, women and children are forced to strip, stand against a wall, and then are shot. When the dead are removed, five more are brought in and the atrocity is committed again.

There is not a moments reprieve from the brutality as director Rogozhkin plants the camera and the story inside that basement. I found his examination of the assassin's mindset most interesting. Early on, the cheka-men seem indifferent to their jobs, but as the film winds down, we see that all the killing has slowly begun to erode their very souls.

Igor Sergeyev is amazing as the ambitious chekist who finds himself caught up in a machine of death that he helped to create and slowly losing his mind.

The film is like passing a car accident on a highway, it's horrible and you might not like what you see but you can't take your eyes off of it. A disturbing film that is hard to forget.

Chekist is one of those Russain flicks that is sought after by collectors but so far it was never available on DVD or VHS in Europe or the States. Of course you can get it in Russia but without English subs. Film Bizzaro has released it on DVD-R only for 50 copies and it was sold within minutes. Is it worth all that, yes it does.

But let me first of all say that this isn't an easy film to watch. It's disturbing in all manners and it's based on real events taking place early 1900 in Russia. The CHEKA were the secret police that Lenin established after the Bolshevik revolution. The reason was very simple, they arrested every body who was against them with a trial taking place in a few minutes. all were send to execution.

And this is exactly what it shows. A few executions in the beginning and then we start to know Srubov (Igor Sergeev) a Cheka having no problem with interviewing (only one minute) the victims and trial them death. He also witnesses the executions and once we see that it is going on for minutes. And it doesn't give the viewer an easy feeling. It surely isn't for the faint-hearted because the way they are executed and the bodies are thrown away gives you shivers. First of all they all had to strip naked before facing 5 doors and getting a bullet in the head. On the other hand one scene isn't also easy to take. A mother comes in the Cheka building searching for Srubov to ask to free her son. While asking she let her daughter strip before him so he can make love to her. You get the picture I guess.

One of those flicks you want to turn off because you can't take it anymore but still you watch it because how is it going to end?

There's a lot of nudity a thing i thought wasn't to be seen in such kind of flick. But be advised, men and women go full frontal but they are executed soon so another not comfortable thing.

If you can catch a copy then you surely must watch it to understand what went on in Russia almost 100 years ago.

Gore 1/5 Nudity 4/5 Effects 0/5 Story 5/5 Comedy 0/5

It's funny to see Russians/pro-Russians on here getting triggered by a film that makes good ol' mother Russia look bad, claiming that it's somehow 'evil Western propaganda'. The film is A RUSSIAN FILM. Created by Russians, based on a book written by a Russian, and about a Russian tragedy that they themselves created. The reason you're so upset with this, the reason you're so angry, is because a film like this somehow managed to slip through the cracks of the Russian terror machine and expose to the world what the Soviet experiment was all about - the accusing and murder of anyone they didn't like. That's a theme that continues to this day in Russia, if you don't like the government you're either shot or never seen again. Boris Nemtsov, Alexander Litvenenko, Alexei Navalny, anyone. Frankly you should be happy you're reading this outside Russia and being able to comment here freely.

This very heavy movie is based on a mostly documented book by a communist writer, who was observing this kind of events when he was working between real chekists in a real Russian town shortly after October 1917 revolution. At that time, before 1923, the young writer/journalist was thinking that the revolutionary books should show true life. Soon he has been explained about his mistake. Himself did not survive 1937, was executed when a much more extended murder of Soviet people was organized; but we have got a book, published 52 years after the author death, and, later, this movie, showing what he was observing in the very early years of Soviet Union. Due to the personal involvement of the author, practically participating in the events, psychological conflicts inside of a person (main "hero" of the movie) are shown. It is clearly seen, that not only those, killed by dozens in cellars cannot survive the "revolution", but also murderers will not be able to stay human and keep consciousness and reason, when are involved in such atrocities.