This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

'Chetyre' (= Russian for 'four') deals with an issue everybody feels uneasy about: the artificial, factory-like, duplication of humans.It makes 'Chetyre' a watch that will burden you. By telling simultaneous fragments of its three leads' lives, this film breathes doubt & uncertainty all the way down. The two males both end up tragically, the girl was already a tragedy at the start.All this is magnificently acted out. For instance by a talk between the three of them, accidentally meeting in a bar. It is clear they don't believe each other's stories, but don't admit so for the sake of their company in a lonely night. The barkeeper misses out on it all anyway.Another strong scene is provided by the girl, visiting a village where dolls are produced. Although a serious production problem has arisen lately, the villagers do no more than indulge themselves in a eating & drinking party.'Chetyre' is a very Russian film. Beautifully shot, with a pretty slow pace, and lots of dialogs. Taking plenty of time to make its point, its pessimistic mood will penetrate you thoroughly. Its message makes a logic extension of its subject: humanity is unable to control its own destiny.

First I want to address some of the inane reviews here that are moaning about the lack of narrative, or more inane still, the lack of "plot"?? What can I say to that? You know SFA about cinema (as an art form) by the sounds of it and would probably be better off sticking to Hollywood fare. If you have a social conscience and know something about the underbelly of capitalism you will 'get' this movie - though a sense of humour helps (something it seems some of these reviewers do not have). From a technical point of view I was most impressed by the use of sound in this work and would recommend it to any music and image student looking for a good example of creative sound usage in film making. Put simply, I liked this film, I found it touching, I was moved, what more can I say?

Perhaps being a former Moscovite myself and having an elastic sense of humor prevents me from tossing this movie into the 'arthouse/festival crap' trashcan. It's not the greatest film of 2005, nor is it complete garbage. It just has a lot of problems. I also sincerely doubt this movie was banned due to any 'ideological fears', or 'conservative taboos' or any other reason this movie might conversely be called 'courageous' and 'uncompromising' abroad. It was banned because the censors knew 99% of the Russian film-goers would find it offensive because of the bad taste exercised during the shooting and editing of this otherwise dull film.So we have a strong opening shot. Wonderful sound design, excellent premise - laden with meaning and symbolism. The usage and placement of symbols will consistently be of the film's strongest aspects (not that the number 4 is a daunting visual challenge). Over the next 40 minutes we have an equally strong setup. An amusing and well-written bar conversation among the 3 (main?) characters, and we feel pathos for these people, the great country of Russia, the human condition and all that. Then the movie starts slowing down. We begin to wonder what -yawn- lies ahead.The rest is quite boring, simply put. Sure, the guy in the village tugs the heartstrings, and there are some slightly amusing moments. Nice sound, sure. But the enjoyment of this movie, not to mention the plot, are seriously compromised by the pacing problems. And this, this lack of a payoff for sitting through all the (nicely-shot) abject misery and bleakness, is what ultimately will make people angry at the 'offensive' stuff (personally, the main offensive scene bordered on being endearing, in that pathetic way harmless drunks can appear).If you want to watch an enjoyable movie where Russians get wasted for prolonged periods of time (the entire film), watch Particulars of the National Hunt. Much more rewarding post-Soviet stuff. So yeah, a 4 out of 10 for 4, nice and symbolic of my post-mediocre-film condition.

I have just seen this film by Russian DVD. Technically it is a very interesting film. It is a really a contemporary cinema art, in the sense that we now live in the time after the cold war, after the end of typical genre films and studio system.This film has nothing in common with classic cinema before 1980s. From aesthetic point of view it is a clearest example of a Russian postmodernist cinema,which has existed. in fact, from 1980s.Before the beginning of the Perestroika such a stream was limited in the circle of independent filmmakers and officially banned films of some directors. Now almost all the films of that trend is available to Russian and foreign people. Yes, they are not banned, people can see such films on VHS or DVDs,if not in theaters. I wonder if contemporary Russian film-goers can see in this work someone sympathetic to, or even somewhat common with, themselves.Well, we have heard and read about the Past of Soviet Union, cruelty of the totalitarian regime. We have watched it in the cinema of Alexei German. I know my Russian friends today live utterly normal life. I cannot understand why this almost fictional harshness must be shown to viewers today. Well, it is a postmodernist film, such as that of Michael Haneke or other intelligent Europen filmmakers. This is really a respectable cinema art, but I feel something missing in it, especially when compared it with old Russian films(they are called by Russians as "nashe staroe kino"--"our old cinema"). This simple word expresses ideal relationship between film and film-lover. "Andrei Rublyev" and "My friend, Ivan Lapshin", for example,have been favorite films of many Russian people. They loved these films. But I can not imagine my Russian friends, who are normal and intelligent people, could love "4".Maybe I am not right. Maybe someday "4" may become one of favorite films of Russian people. But if it will happen, surely not in such a way, as with "nashe staroe kino".