Surprised there's no reviews yet for this gripping series, as it is available on NetFlix (Canada, anyway).
This pretty young grad, Esenya, from the Police Academy in Moscow wants to do her internship with a reclusive, legendary homicide detective named Yosodin Meglin. For some reason, even though he hardly talks to anybody, he agrees to accept her, but only on his terms, of course, since he is very secretive - however, he is very successful at 'getting' the bad guys (and in Russia, with loony-tune government problems over the last 20 years, and a sky-rocketing alcohol-abuse rate for a couple of centuries, there are plenty of brutal murders to sort out). Meglin first shows his stuff in Episode One, whilst attending the 'grad party' of the graduates from the Academy. One of the grads is cut down by a trick piece of jewelry, and Meglin, attending to enjoy a few drinks, picks the culprit right out of the crowd. After a cheery conversation, the weirdo confesses and gives the police information on the silent partner who helped him perform this nefarious crime on a totally innocent young female.
I thought the first two episodes were gripping. The performances are first-class, and the stories are compelling. However, there seems to be boundaries to which we adhere (less & less, I agree) in the West with regard to cinema that are NOT observed in Russian movies. So, there are some gory attacks, and shocking displays of body parts (dead & alive) - I had my hand on the FF button throughout) - included in the episodes. Also, I did think the quality and coherence fell off somewhat in the later stories.
This is a macabre blend of the edgy British show Cracker, with characteristics of Columbo, Blacklist and Monk added (to give you some comparison). NOT for the faint-hearted.
This pretty young grad, Esenya, from the Police Academy in Moscow wants to do her internship with a reclusive, legendary homicide detective named Yosodin Meglin. For some reason, even though he hardly talks to anybody, he agrees to accept her, but only on his terms, of course, since he is very secretive - however, he is very successful at 'getting' the bad guys (and in Russia, with loony-tune government problems over the last 20 years, and a sky-rocketing alcohol-abuse rate for a couple of centuries, there are plenty of brutal murders to sort out). Meglin first shows his stuff in Episode One, whilst attending the 'grad party' of the graduates from the Academy. One of the grads is cut down by a trick piece of jewelry, and Meglin, attending to enjoy a few drinks, picks the culprit right out of the crowd. After a cheery conversation, the weirdo confesses and gives the police information on the silent partner who helped him perform this nefarious crime on a totally innocent young female.
I thought the first two episodes were gripping. The performances are first-class, and the stories are compelling. However, there seems to be boundaries to which we adhere (less & less, I agree) in the West with regard to cinema that are NOT observed in Russian movies. So, there are some gory attacks, and shocking displays of body parts (dead & alive) - I had my hand on the FF button throughout) - included in the episodes. Also, I did think the quality and coherence fell off somewhat in the later stories.
This is a macabre blend of the edgy British show Cracker, with characteristics of Columbo, Blacklist and Monk added (to give you some comparison). NOT for the faint-hearted.