Such a frustrating disappointment

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

As Good As It Gets

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

A moody film about two half-sisters on the run from gangsters. A lot of it is established by the two beautiful young, but almost continuously sad looking sisters, the so(m)ber landscapes and a lot of old and rather monotonous (which is a good thing in this case) Russian poprock ('80s band Kino). There's a lot said with not so many words about the girls, their uncertain futures and also about the situation in their area (Russia).At times the film develops as simple and straight forward as a teen film (a little too much so in my opinion, for instance when the good guys come in at such a convenient time at the end and kill the bad guys), but as implied before, overall not a happy or naive one. There's some intense violence in it, which certainly makes this unsuitable for children, but that also makes it a fairly honest and unflinching portrayal of one of the bleaker parts of the world.The acting is just fine, even though a lot of the time there's no telling what goes on inside their minds - which seems appropriate for the characters.A big 7 out of 10.

I really liked this one. I have been on somewhat of a Russian movie bender for the last 4 or 5 months. Most of the movies I have seen have been unremarkable, basically repackage Hollywood with a Russian veneer. However, there have been a few films that have stuck out as something different, films that could only be made in Russia.I have never been to Russia so I cannot say that the film has any bearing in reality. However, the film seemed real, in the same way that reality can be stranger than fiction. One of the things I loved about this movie is that none of it is filmed in Moscow or St. Petersburg (as far as I could tell). That is pretty rare for a Russia drama that deals solely with the human condition. You get to see a lot of the small town and semi-rural (dascha) parts of Russia in this movie, which is much more interesting than seeing St. Basil's Cathedral for the umteenth millionth time.The soundtrack in this movie is probably my most favorite of any Russian movie I have seen. It actually works with the screen material and reminds me a lot of movies like Brat and Bumer. There are parts of the film that seem a bit unpolished and awkward, but overall, this is definitely one film to check out if you are into Russia films and culture.

This film touched me when i watched at a movie theater mostly as the last film of the young director Sergei Bodrov Jr. The story of a possible kidnapping of a child is common but you feel weird watching this film, you consider the power of money is above the human souls, bodies and lives in the birth of a new nation from its ashes... It was very melancholic to notice that S. B. Jr. is dead and SYOSTRY was his first and last movie. For this man and his dream to show us the new "corrupted" face of Russia the jobbery and the "corrosion" comparing with old "pure" and bureaucratic face of USSR, this is like an ode to life and death. He seems to fight the mobs inside the "story" even if the happy end became really "deadly" to this young cinematic "poet" through the strong family relations between two sisters, the "old Russia" and the "new Russia"... the Russia of Capital and the modern gangsters...Music of the film was lyric, melodic and full of different emotions with sadness being the top as Victor Tsoy is dead too, as much many realistic things happened we felt spooky and chill more about the young children or adults "victims" of "mobs".This is a must to see if you love Russian cinema, old or new, and i am sure that you will be touched very much. The

I think this is a very good movie because it expresses the soul of Russia, the way I'm imagining Russia. There are not very long dialogs in the film, only very short and pointed conversations between people exists. Furthermore people very rarely laugh, the mood seems to be authentic Russian, with a little bit depression in it all the time.The shots Sergej Budrov makes are also excellent, they are very impressive and get you in something like a state of trance. The acting is also good, from the cool Russian Mafia gangster to the two young sisters all actors play their roles convincing and no one is overacting.So if you have about an hour time, go watch this fine Russian movie.In remembrance of Sergej Budrov -