Very well executed

the audience applauded

Stylish but barely mediocre overall

I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

One of the best war movies. How can we, who have never been there understand war? The madness, the horror. Makes no difference , is it 1943 or 1941 or Afghanistan. I cannot understand war.But I can understand being human. Our frailty,red blood,our dreams, skin and bones. This is what the movie is about. We are not made of symbols such as Motherland, Nazis, Stalin,Communists,Soviets,heroes etc, propaganda is made of symbols.We are made of flesh and blood. War is so crazy we hide from it behind imaginary heroes, historical facts , we want some rational to hide from the madness. This film does not comfort by providing meaning,symbols and chronology, maybe that is why so many bad reviews.

It's amazing, it's astounding, it's unbelievable - it's trash beyond any usual definition of trash! Some compare it with the "Inglorious basterds" and indeed it's just as insane and irreverent to historical truth but the madcap feats of daring and a plethora of lively and memorable characters that made IG such an affable flick are not there, replaced by a (s)crappy sequence of sketches performed by a coven of morons, traitors, cowards and assholes. "Sun-burned 2" is a live adaptation of "Happy Tree Friends" with the plot of every episode following the same pattern: enters Michalkov(a), enters everybody else, everybody else dies horribly, Michalkov(a) leaves, viewer doesn't give a damn.

Utomlyonnye solntsem 2: Predstoyanye (Burnt by the Sun: Anticipation) is the sequel to Nikita Mikhalkov's exceptional 1994 period drama about Stalin's political repressions in the 1930s. However, a lot of water has passed under the bridge in 15 years and the poignancy of the original is certainly lost here.This film follows the struggles of the repressed Kotov family and the man who is responsible for their plight through the Soviet theater of WW2. The plot is neither simple enough to be called a drama nor expansive enough to be an epic. Instead its a picaresque flow of vignettes reminiscent of a play - the majority of scenes have retained the original film's intimacy, with few actors on screen at the same time.In terms of direction I was impressed in places, though mostly by technical skill rather than revelatory plot devices or subtle acting. The restrained use of sound effects and music that worked so well in the first film is definitely one of this sequel's redeeming features.On a less positive note, I was exasperated by the treatment of suffering Mikhalkov offers his audience - many characters spend their entire screen time whimpering, crying or cowering in the rubble - not exactly the Tears and Glory that many have come to expect from the genre. We can only hope the Glory will come in the third film (we are, after all, in Anticipation).As an actor Nikita Mikhalkov is accomplished and energetic as always, but the show is easily stolen by Sergei Makovetsky, gingerly portraying a sympathetic SMERSH officer stuck in a catch 22, as well as Mikhalkov's promising daughter Nadya as a tormented young Pioneer lost in the landscape of war. I should note that Makovetsky recently starred in the considerably more engaging WW2 saga "The Priest" and is on something of a roll lately.Despite the overall quality of the cast the direction takes an unusual approach to a number of performers - Dmitriy Dyuzhev of Brigada fame, for example, spends the entire film whimpering unconvincingly - something he was obviously never designed for. Oleg Menshikov, a fine period actor many will know for playing Yerast Fandorin in 'Statski Sovetnik", is no more or less wooden than grandma's kitchen ladle - it seems Mikhalkov was simply uninterested in engaging this actor.Considering how much money was spent, production values are quite low in places - props often seem lonely on battlefields and costumes lack imagination. Perhaps most of it went to the actors that managed to cozy up to this lucrative gig... In any case, a number of scenes feel cheap and give the entire production an air of inconsistency.Last but not least, it would be a shame not to mention Mikhalkov's own fate. Most foreigners will be unaware of the fact that in the 15 years since the release of the original movie, Mikhalkov has become a close friend and associate of a leader himself accused of political repression - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. I would have no qualms with this ordinarily, assuming that all the funds his efforts raised were spent making great movies. Unfortunately, Mikhalkov's tenure as figurehead of Russia's film industry did not produce many quality films. Certainly, none by Mikhalkov himself.The bottom line: a sequel unworthy of its predecessor in almost every way, but good enough to own on DVD or watch with the family.

It's not a secret that Mr. Putin and Mr. Medvedev continue anti-Russian, anti-soviet, anti-historic and certainly anti-Stalin propaganda. Their puppets gave about $55 million from state budget to Mr. Mikhalkov for another peace of crap. So, don't trust that scandal campaign in Cannes. They cut about 1 hour because the movie is so miserable that there is nothing to watch for film-maker or usual viewer. Thanks to Mr. Mikhalkov our heroes, our veterans who had smashed fascist Gitler had been so foully slandered in commemoration of the 65th anniversary of Victory in Great Patriotic War. BTW, Berlin was captured by soviet atheistic people. So, Mihkalkov's pseudo-Christian scenes looks just idiotic.