Im Angesicht des Verbrechens

It has been called the „German Twin Peaks" (considering the appeal it might have on its audience) by acclaimed journalists, "Hollywood made in Germany" declared others. Maybe those comments came out of a deep longing for good productions, that have sadly been missing from local TV screens for quite some time.

But maybe all that praise comes from the simple fact, that it is – indeed – brilliant: The breadth of narration, the sheer number of speaking parts and motifs and the overall worthwhileness make it essential viewing for anyone.

In its 450 minutes it comes as a study of underworld shenanigans in Germany's capital, not shying away from showing all that scum that Travis Bickle would want to have washed away by the rain. And then at once it is a buddy flick, dealing with two upcoming cop's ambition to make the big catch. Only that one of them (Marek) wants to find the murderer of his brother, who himself was once attached to organized crime, which gives "Im Angesicht des Verbrechens" its general setting.

And the creators do so while finding a good balance between the locations, the mood and the characters involved.

But maybe the biggest strength of this series lies in finding an emotional backing by the story of Marek and Jelana (a young Russian that has been lured to Berlin in the prospect of a good job and finding her big love, only to been sold a prostitute) that encompasses the series' and its protagonists' dilemma in carrying out one's duty whilst handling your personal incentives.

I do not even try to come near to listing all story arcs and themes. Just find out yourself.

Yes, German TV is alive!

The series in question has brought forth a lot of ambivalent thoughts and feelings for me. On the one hand, its course of events and many actors (particularly Max Riemelt as Marek Gorsky, Alina Levshin as Jelena, Mark Ivanir as Andrej) met my eye from the first episode, but many clichés about Russians and their comprehensions (vodka, noisy parties, corruption), as well as a lot of broken Russian uttered made the watching complex at times.

Moreover, I felt sometimes that some scenes became too scattered and/or were intended to fill out the total length, but still... I could still imagine that for general audience, for them not knowing Russian and without direct contacts with Russia and its people, Im Angesicht des Verbrechens is a captivating and skilfully accomplished creation about the life in contemporary Berlin where the diversity accompanied by immigrants and tourists is not always a benefit, when "old" locals have to cope with new type of business and management methods. The thrill is there, the love is there, the violence is there, and all this was masterfully combined into a story with several twists and turns, with comic and tragic elements included.

So, despite the shortcomings mentioned above, I still give 8 points, i.e. trying to "forget" my background and time of youth, confirming that I have become a full Westerner... :)