Total balalaïka show

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 first learned of the Leningrad Cowboys from one of my mom's employees in 2002. He explained that they're a Finnish band that performs covers of famous songs, and played me some of their performances (being the sort of person that I am, I asked what the group's actual name is in Finnish).

Russia's current occupation of Ukraine makes it a bit awkward to watch Aki Kaurismäki's "Total Balalaika Show". Ignoring that, it's a fun documentary. The subject is a concert thirty years ago this month, where the Leningrad Cowboys performed with the Aleksandrov Ensemble in Helsinki, singing western pop songs and traditional Russian songs. It's a sight like you can't imagine.

We obviously hope that Russia's occupation of Ukraine eventually ends, and that peaceful relations with Russia can get restored. In the meantime, this is one fun documentary. The Criterion Collection's release includes some of the Leningrad Cowboys' music videos. Wacky stuff.

PS: Aki Kaurismäki and his brother Mika are friends with Jim Jarmusch. The cast of Jarmusch's Helsinki segment of "Night on Earth" are frequent cast members in the Kaurismäkis' movies.

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.

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.

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.