Political drama. Which artistically reflects the political reality of the second half of the thirties of the last century, namely the struggle of the CPSU against the opposition and external enemies in the country. The author of this review knew for a long time that such a picture exists, but he did not watch it due to various circumstances (and he also "grew up" politically only now), which is why this picture has been waiting in the wings for so long. And the author was pleased with the final result - it really is a masterpiece of political drama, which is top class in terms of the intensity of the drama itself and the acting. And here's a brief opinion - An excellent Soviet political drama of the thirties. There are no flaws in the picture (because we do not take the technical component, and there are not many coincidences with the real story), so the author will focus your attention on the merits of this political drama.
So, here they are:
1. The scenario - picture will tell us and show the history of the service of the bright Bolshevik of the twenties and thirties of the last century, Pyotr Mikhailovich Shakhov (prototype - Sergey Mironovich Kirov), who, after the revolutions and the end of the civil war, like the rest of the members of the VKPb, is engaged in restoring the national economy of the USSR, and then strengthening it (because without a strong economy, the state cannot to be considered independent), but then those who do not want the country to prosper, but want to realize their ideas - namely, the world revolution (greetings to Leon Davidych Trotsky), for which Russia - It was just a fuse. Yeah, it turned out great in 1920 with Poland (this time greetings to Tukhachevsky). These "comrades", who are not our comrades at all, want to turn the course of the VKPb in their direction. They are joined by agents of foreign countries, emigrants, and Trotsky himself maintains contact with them. They find traitors in those areas of the national economy that they need, commit terrorist attacks on important facilities, and generally do every possible harm to the Soviet Union, which is surrounded by hostile states on almost all sides. And it is against these enemies that Comrade Shakhov and other Bolsheviks are fighting. Yes, sometimes it is not always successful and not always on time to find them, especially in their own environment, but nevertheless. And although the ending was tragic for Shakhov, other Bolsheviks would continue his work. All the characters were written perfectly, and the actors were chosen at the appropriate level, so you shouldn't worry about the dialogues and acting.
2. Maxim performed by Boris Chirkov - in the first episode, who would have thought - Comrade Maxim himself appears - a well-known Bolshevik with good pre-revolutionary experience (in the final part of the trilogy, he went to the front to defend Petrograd from Yudenich's troops in 1918), who helps Shakhov deal a strong blow to the opposition and force them to leave underground. And his famous song "The Blue Ball is Spinning, spinning" is something. Not only does the viewer not expect Comrade Maxim to appear, but he also proves with his deeds what a real Bolshevik is and what needs to be done to defeat the enemies.
3. Historical parallels - of course, this is the struggle within the VKPB after the death of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin in 1924, after which two lines began to prevail in the party - Stalin and Trotsky, how Stalin defeated Trotsky, this murder of Kirov in 1934 (the customers are still unknown, but there is a German trace and there is an opposition trace) and of course the political processes of 1937, namely the defeat of the Trotskyites, Zinovievites, including the Trotskyites Pyatakov, Karl Radek and a number of others. Fortunately, the opposition was destroyed, and the Soviet country took the right path to a brighter future. It is a pity that this process was interrupted in 1953 after Stalin's death, but this, as they say, is a completely different story.
Of course, the picture is tedious, because both episodes take more than four hours. And this is not an action movie, not a Hollywood blockbuster, it's a Soviet political drama, where mostly dialogues, rallies, meetings and the like. Not every viewer can stand it. Yes, this is a work of fiction, but it perfectly shows how difficult it was for the Soviet Union in the pre-war years, and how it was able to cope with such difficulties, and then win the most monstrous war in the history of mankind. Therefore, do not be lazy to watch it, because it has not lost its relevance even now. However, the picture should be restored, because it doesn't look very good right now, to put it mildly.
The actors are great, and all of them.
10 out of 10 and recommended for viewing!
