The film is based on materials about the work and life in the United States of illegal immigrants from our intelligence, Colonel Elena Vavilova and her husband, Colonel Andrei Bezrukov.
In this film, agents aren’t thrown to be eaten by sharks (Bond), spies with a changed psyche (Born) aren’t running off rooftops, and there’s no empty-handed KGB General Pushkin (I think also in the Bond movies). A twelve-episode film “The Russians” sponsored by NTV was released on the screen. The film is based on materials about the work and life in the United States of illegal immigrants from our intelligence Colonel Elena Vavilova (author of the book “A Woman Who Can Keep Secrets” and co-author of the film script) and her husband . , Colonel Andrei Bezrukov. They are both from Tomsk, they have gone through many years of training, perfecting foreign languages and knowledge of Western life. Please note that the illegal intelligence of the USSR and Russia is absolutely unique, in any case, the history of world intelligence does not know of American colonels or others posing as Russians.
The film “Russians” is a large-scale epic, based not only on the experience of the mentioned illegal immigrants, but also on other episodes of the activities of our intelligence. It’s gratifying that it stands apart from the movies that came out after the collapse of the USSR and were sustained by the spirit of rabid KGB discredit and intelligence, essentially copying Hollywood like a monkey. The Gauthiers (“Fairy” and “Philosopher”, the intelligence aliases of the film’s heroes) work in the United States and extract secrets about enemy plans that threaten our state. Outwardly, this is an ordinary American family, honest inhabitants, raising two children and indifferent to politics.
The series takes place against the backdrop of real political events (the US intervention in Iraq based on Saddam Hussein’s false accusations of the threat of deadly chemical weapons). In the center of the film is not only the SVR headquarters in Yasenevo, but also the FSB headquarters in Lubyanka, absorbed in the search for the “mole” who handed over our illegal immigrants to the American special services. The American FBI is also on alert, diligently investigating the Gauthier couple.
For the first time in our cinema, the family drama of illegal immigrants is shown: the need to have a romance on the side in order to acquire a valuable source of information, Dela’s interests are above all else. The advantage of the film is a target, not a caricature of the American CIA and FBI, this increases the degree of truthfulness and is beneficial to the film. Director Denis Neimand managed to create a monumental and exciting series, cameraman Viktor Shkuratov did an excellent job. It is worth noting the serious dramatic work of actress Ekaterina Molokhovskaya in the role of intelligence agent Catherine Gauthier, convincing images created by Alexander Samoilenko (mentor of our illegal immigrants), Denis Vasilyev (former German illegal), Lisa Martinez ( FBI employee) , Elena Karpova (SVR employee), Daria Lendoy (seductive agent).
Despite some length, the series is watched with great interest, the viewer sincerely sympathizes with the arrested intelligence officers Gauthier and their charming children. The story of our intelligence service is truly a treasure trove for writers and filmmakers, and Western filmmakers do not disdain it. It seems that fresh winds have blown and one can only welcome the appearance of the Russian series and wish our filmmakers success in creating films that are close in popularity to Seventeen Moments of Spring.
