The 90's was the darkest time of modern Russia - collapse of the USSR left a huge void in the society. Gangsters and corrupted officials quickly filled it, and normal people were left to fend for themselves against the harsh weather, the free-falling economy, and the rampant violence and corruption. This is the background of the story, and the movie did an excellent job depicting it. Often those crooked cops and so-called gangsters are not really bad people - in such economic hardship people do whatever they could to survive and provide, although sadly they seem to end up stealing from each other.
As many great Russian films, this movie also has a Russian soul, which is deeper than what meets the eyes. From the plentiful symbolism, to the magical moments, to the hidden moral critiques, the seemingly scattered and unorganized plot knit together a mosaic picture of the desolate Russian society in the post-Soviet era, in a story-telling technique that should be pretty familiar to people who have had some experience with Russian films.
An instance of symbolism would be the old lady, who is a symbol of the magical self-healing power arises from the Russian people during the most desperate times such as WWII or the 1990's and helped them survive as a nation. Other times she remains in a state of hibernation, almost as if she were dead. This theme can be seen in, for example, the movie White Tiger, where the tank man miraculously survived a 90% burn and fought off the Tiger tank despite technological disparity.
An example of moral critique would be the repercussion of greed. There were two groups of cops who took bribes, the first group was more "honest", but the second group planted drugs and sucked the blood of the innocent shop keeper, who was not a gang member like the protagonists. The greedy one got punished, losing his hand while trying to get the dollar bill. The trucker who out of greed did not want to pay the gangsters who actually "help out" and attack with a screwdriver also got his justice. Even the gang members only ran out of luck when they got greedy and tried to rob the computer factory.
Finally, the BMW/Mercedes were symbols of the Wester capitalism. The trouble started with a Mercedes being robbed and the owner wanted to get it back, which he later regretted, and ended with the same person abandoning the stolen BMW in the woods. In the village the old lady, who symbolizes the motherland, also mentioned how menacing the car looks. At the time, from ordinary Russian people's point of view, they saw the opening up of market tearing down social security and government institutions, bringing in a storm of greed that rip through the society, where the oligarchs took everything in the name of free market. It looked like a glamours car, but it drives them to their own destruction.
Given the budget limitation, I think the film did a tremendous job reflecting on the society of its time and was not lacking in details. I highly recommend it to those who want to see how it was like in the 90's Russia or those who are interested in Russian films in general.
As many great Russian films, this movie also has a Russian soul, which is deeper than what meets the eyes. From the plentiful symbolism, to the magical moments, to the hidden moral critiques, the seemingly scattered and unorganized plot knit together a mosaic picture of the desolate Russian society in the post-Soviet era, in a story-telling technique that should be pretty familiar to people who have had some experience with Russian films.
An instance of symbolism would be the old lady, who is a symbol of the magical self-healing power arises from the Russian people during the most desperate times such as WWII or the 1990's and helped them survive as a nation. Other times she remains in a state of hibernation, almost as if she were dead. This theme can be seen in, for example, the movie White Tiger, where the tank man miraculously survived a 90% burn and fought off the Tiger tank despite technological disparity.
An example of moral critique would be the repercussion of greed. There were two groups of cops who took bribes, the first group was more "honest", but the second group planted drugs and sucked the blood of the innocent shop keeper, who was not a gang member like the protagonists. The greedy one got punished, losing his hand while trying to get the dollar bill. The trucker who out of greed did not want to pay the gangsters who actually "help out" and attack with a screwdriver also got his justice. Even the gang members only ran out of luck when they got greedy and tried to rob the computer factory.
Finally, the BMW/Mercedes were symbols of the Wester capitalism. The trouble started with a Mercedes being robbed and the owner wanted to get it back, which he later regretted, and ended with the same person abandoning the stolen BMW in the woods. In the village the old lady, who symbolizes the motherland, also mentioned how menacing the car looks. At the time, from ordinary Russian people's point of view, they saw the opening up of market tearing down social security and government institutions, bringing in a storm of greed that rip through the society, where the oligarchs took everything in the name of free market. It looked like a glamours car, but it drives them to their own destruction.
Given the budget limitation, I think the film did a tremendous job reflecting on the society of its time and was not lacking in details. I highly recommend it to those who want to see how it was like in the 90's Russia or those who are interested in Russian films in general.