Armand it is realistic and for Eastern public, full of memories. because it is not only a Russian story. it is the story of a period. pictures from transition to democracy, images about solutions after Communism, fight for power, success and fall. if it is a Russian slice from victory of a new generation, in same measure it is a beautiful film. action, love, friendship and old emotion of East. politic, crime and poetry. and interesting acting, smart script - not a surprise for the director of Ostrov. it is a special film for its flavor of atmosphere. common at first sigh, it represents a form of testimony and reflection of a dark reality who makes deep difference between East and West Europe.

parahumanoid This movie is very Russian. It's not intended for foreigners and will never work as an international film. You have to have lived there, to have feared to go out of the house after nightfall because of street shootings and grenades blowing up offices in a market sharing war of various mafia groups. You have to understand what a "thief in law" (вор в законе)means as a concept (a concept rather vague even to most Russians - and no, this concept is not what it sounds like literally, don't be misled that the term speaks for itself), you have to be able to relate to a bright person who found himself in a dog-eat-dog reality where intelligence alone isn't enough to sustain basic survival. This movie is GREATLY about being able to read the Russian reality between the lines. If you weren't there, you most likely won't get it and will join the thong of those who give this movie anything below 8/10 with comments about underdeveloped characters. Trust me, they are very well developed, you just don't get it, can't read between the lines. It's sort of like saying that Joyce's "Ulysses" is boring and conceded: most just don't get it.

Bigcritic73 To say this movie is bad is lending it too much credit. The writing and cinematography were atrocious, not to mention the amateurish acting that at times was so painful to watch that I walked away to answer a phone call and go to the bathroom - both more enjoyable.Do not watch this movie unless you're in need of a cure for insomnia. The ten line IMDb requirement is bad policy for bad movies since there's really not much to say about this travesty.There's a theory that a thousand chimpanzees sitting in a room full of typewriters could have come up with Shakespeare's masterpieces. I'll offer another theory: two chimps and a typewriter would stumble upon this story first with little effort and no editorial service.I hope something better comes out of Russia soon, or they'll be blacklisted from my DVD player.

jfseignol A good movie about modern Russia. Two major problems, imho :1) The desire of shooting "nice pictures" is often too invasive in the movie, it makes all the story too heavy, too dramatic2) The financial aspect, the "how they succedd in conning people (and state)" is too quickly described. I'd rather had got more explanations.But, despite its duration (more than 2 hours), this movie stays very interesting.