Pryatki

I have rarely seen such a perfect police drama. It's every bit as good as some of the best that was coming out of Sweden and Denmark a few years ago and far more grisly in its depiction of reality. Nothing is varnished or glossed over. The ugly reality of life as dealt with by the local cops of this two-bit, dying, industrial town in the Ukraine is shown in all its gory horror.

Along the way, some decent people get caught up in the criminal underworld and others are seduced by the rewards to be obtained. Some pay the price for their participation in this dreadful gangland of pitiless rivalry and jostling for position and money.

The two detectives, Varta Naumova and Maksim Shumov, have their own demons and histories. A possible second series is hinted at by an implied revelation of who caused Varta's trauma and Maksim has unfinished business with other colleagues that could endanger his career.

The detective work is both painstaking and intuitive. There's nothing that can't be believed in the way the case is resolved. And obviously there are twists along the way and right up to the end too. But they aren't there for effect. They are part of a very human plot with fallible human motivations in both their weakness and compassion.

I can't recommend this highly enough. I'll be looking out for another series.

It's like a dark Scandi thriller you've seen before.

The settings are bleak, the story is stretched to 8 episodes, a woman becomes the main investigator and she has personal issues and old relationships, a man who seems bad turns out to be good - but most men are bad, and so on and so on.

One difference is that while you read your English subtitles the voices will be speaking Russian.

I skipped to the last episode to see if it got better. It didn't.

Gritty, atmospheric and captures the bleak countryside with a sense of despair and reality. So glad they used subtitles and not over dubbed it. Best series I've seen for a long time from any country.

By far superior to any American series out there. I have all but given up on watching most anything domestically produced due to the lack of character building, plot, and atmosphere. It's all good looks & money generation. Here we have a Russian/Ukraine series that reminds me a bit of The Killing, though stands apart proudly! The atmosphere is bleakly Russian, emitting the sad, poverty stricken starkness that seems to permeate post Soviet towns. Perfect gloomy atmosphere for a tense plot of kidnapped children, their tortured parents, & a struggling police department. There is subtlety in symbolism, the moral vs. amoral, and courage vs. cowardice. No spoilers here! It IS emotional and dark in it's subject matter. Life is real and definitely painful for these characters.

The two investigators fight personal issues, which normally get in the way of a good show by stealing time from the actual crimes, but not so! Their personal challenges integrate seamlessly, almost beautifully, within the case of the kidnapped kids and practically every character in the show is effected by the blowback of the investigators' pasts. In fact, these factors hint at a second season!! Please, please let their be another...there is so much more to answer and work with for a successful 2nd season!

All said and done, those with a soft spot for Russian lit., culture, film, or basically anything of quality on T.V., give it a whirl. Patience is a virtue.

I can understand how this might not appeal to all viewer as it is nothing like your average TV cop drama. And that's why it is so excellent. It is stark, moody, and deeply atmospheric which makes it a tough watch, but it pays off in spades, with stellar writing, directing, acting, twists and turns, keeping a steady pace throughout. Someone else mentioned it reminded them somewhat of The Killing, and I had the same feeling. It was an extraordinary series, and I would be ecstatic if they produced another season. Shows like this are gems!