Total balalaïka show

Entertaining, surreal, hilarious, catchy, spectacular and just a lotta fun. Imagine meeting Lynyrd Skynyrd 30 years ago and telling them that one day "Sweet Home Alabama" would be performed by 10 guys with giant pointy shoes and giant pointy pompadours, backed by the Alexandrov Red Army Ensemble, in front of 70,000 screaming Finlandians.

It's very sweet to witness this display of unity between neighboring countries with a history of animosity. Opening with the Red Army Ensemble singing "Finlandia" and then going into "Let's Work Together" and "Happy Together" and a wonderful mix of Russian standards (I'm assuming) and western rock n' roll, it's really a joyous blend of two cultures. You can't help but smile. Although it's an oddball among Kaurismaki's deadpan narratives, it's one of his finest creations and one of the greatest concert films. The world needs more stuff like this. I'd love to visit Finland, they seem like they have a great sense of humor over there.

A fun, charming music & dance performance.

A 57 minute documentary of a Helsinki concert featuring the Leningrad Cowboys and the Alexandrov Red Army Choir and Ballet, who collaborate on a number of US Rock songs sung in English (like "Sweet Home, Alabama") as well as more traditional Russian songs like the "Volga Boatman".

After a successful movie or two, the Leningrad Cowboys had to become a real musical sensation. And why not? They sound good, they look good, and the time was right for a blend of Russian and American culture, even if it was done by a bunch of Finnish guys.

What we get is a nice mix of classic American rock (1960s and 70s tunes) and Russian standards that probably will not be familiar to most Americans. All the more reason to check it out, because they do a superb job presenting both.

Having seen 2 performances by the Leningrad Cowboys and listened to their cd's I can only conclude that this documentary gives a hint of the excellence of the total. The choir is one of the best in the world and the band is the best in the world(IMHO).

I would have a preferred to see the entire show including the intermissions, that would have given a more complete sence of the overal atmosfere.

I was living in Lahti when this show was broadcast on Finnish television.I was completely stunned by the severe clash of cultures.On the one hand,a group of comically dressed musicians,very competent and visually appealing obviously spoofing the teddy boy craze and on the other hand one of the best choruses in the world dressed in their military finest. You could not expect the two divergent musical styles to get along,much less complement.... But it all works well,with the wonderful antique tractor on full display and the Red Army chorus singing Sweet Home Alabama.What a wonderful show it must have been to see live.It seems like the entire city of Helsinki was there. Hey that is only 500,000 but that's a lot of Finns in one place.

The Red Army Choir performing "Happy Together" with a Finnish band called the Leningrad Cowboys? To top it, even singing "Finlandia" at Helsinki's Senate Square? This concert, filmed in 1993, would have seemed rather unthinkable a few years earlier. It's still a surreal experience to watch it on DVD: the Russian choir and orchestra in stiff uniforms, bearing a mostly somber expression combined with the ludicrously styled, eccentric Leningrad Cowboys and their often parodistic rock demeanour. Remembering the time of Cold War, it is also strangely touching. But what about the music? Well, I have to say that it's not bad at all. Quite the contrary, it's surprisingly good. The Red Army Choir's unnamed lead singer does impressive work together with the Cowboys, and I'm sure that the popular Russian songs sound exactly as they should, although the selection can't be called particularly original (neither the choice of Western songs), but that was probably exactly the right decision for a concert of this kind. It's energetic and in its incomparable blend of silliness and really serious musicianship (on both "sides") something to behold, indeed.