Dear Comrades

Compelling and closely observed drama is a little too slow going in its first half, establishing Konchalovskiy's clear contempt of the bureaucracy; becomes considerably more absorbing in its second half exposing the depths of Vysotskaya's performance as brittle "company woman". More of a sad and sobering portrait of a "true believer"'s value system becoming eroded than a true emotionally charged drama, though the massacre itself is a shocking and brutally effective set piece.

when there isn't left anything for you to expect, everyone sticks with the memories of their "best times" just like lyuda's commitment to stalin and her father's to the earlier times.

The workers of a small town in the USSR go on strike, this causes a great turmoil within their community and the communist party. The government is ready to contain any display of discontent with violence. All the narrative is presented, mostly, with very sober scenes and dialogues. The story develops organically. The only point that is questionable is Viktor's unreasonable affection towards Lyuda (to a point that he takes excessive risks).

The film masterfully captures the nuances, power struggles and contradictions within Soviet institutions post Stalin's death. It gives a lot of context around the different currents within Soviet society and as such surpasses any western interpretation of the downfall of the USSR. In the centre of it is a personal drama that gives a human perspective to the social commentary. Couldn't help but relate to Grossman's Life and Fate. A masterful depiction of the beginning of the end for the USSR.

The whole film is centered around one scene, Konchalevsky's own Odessa Steps sequence, that's one of the most harrowing action scenes I've seen in years. The rest, with all its broken camera angles, is about all the hard work it takes to NOT know something. Everyone learns to not look at the bits where the authorities have paved over the blood, and then everything is once more (remembered as) perfectly normal as we march cheerfully to a glorious future. Good thing that all stopped in '89, eh?