Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

This film is not just another banal heroic epic, which is typical for Russia in terms of WWII movies. No, this work of Mr. Ptashuk is a great, impeccable and fresh one. It has some soft humor, excellent suspense, marvelous plot and very strong play of all the actors. The story takes place in 1944, when the Soviet Army has liberated all of the Russian territory and reached the Polish border. The regular army is busy with its movements and relocations, and nearby, the woods of Belarus / Lithuania / Poland, the Soviet intelligence service called Smersh - Death To Spies, is tracking down the well-organized fascist group consisting of Russians - the traitors who had chosen to serve the Nazi Germany. This secret group is extremely sly, cautious, and does some great spying work. So, the Smersh group has to catch them as soon as possible, being under threat of death penalty if their work is not a success. The main hero, played by Evgeni Mironov, is a cool, calm and collected professional, he know his work well and he follows the spy gang all the time, till he and his aids meet the enemies on a wood meadow. The main spy, played excellently by Aleksandr Baluyev, a merciless, cruel criminal, who is a real master too. Their tense dialog is a central part of the whole film and the unexpected final is a real success. This is a rare case of a really great, smart and very thrilling war movie. Recommended!

what you must consider before commenting on this movie is that it is based on a great book by Vladimir Bogomolov, which is quite long and detailed. As a result, making a movie based on that book has been a very difficult task. I recommend reading the book before watching the movie so as to understand what is going on, because the movie sort of 'dives in'. If you do not feel like reading the book, then at least spend half an hour reading about Belarus in 1944 and the Smersh, which translates from Russian as 'Death to Spies'. I you have no idea what the front was like in 1944 and have not read the book, you could be somewhat disappointed with the movie.

Pros:This movie does not force a bunch of cheesy propaganda down your throat. No banner waving so typical for American flicks, no bad Germans and good Russians so typical for Soviet war movies. In fact, there are no Germans in it! All you see a bunch of SMERSH guys doing their job, and doing it well. Technically, the movie is very accurate. Uniforms, weapons, vehicles... all top notch. Very nice locations, settings, camera work and editing.Cons:The story lacks action and any kind of suspense. Which would be almost OK if it was 40 minutes shorter. I wish the director had better script to work with.The verdict: An average Soviet (in this case, post-Soviet) war flick, decently shot and acted but pretty boring.The rating: 5/10.Go see Das Boot if you want a really striking non-Hollywood WWII movie.

This is one of the best war movies I have ever seen. Forget Private Ryan, forget G.I. Jane, forget Platoon or Born of 4th of July. These Belarusians have made a brilliant thriller, with perfect cinematography, fine acting and almost perfect editing. And, which is very important, there is no any propaganda here. This is not "Germans-are-so-bad, the-others-so good" kind of movie.It is simply good entertainment - one of the same kind as "U-571", for example.