Soviet Corruption Unveiled in 'Two Prosecutors'

0:00On March 26, Sergei Lasnitsa's latest film, Two Prosecutors, dives into Soviet corruption during the height of Stalin's Great Purge in 1937. It centers on a young prosecutor named Alexander, who shows up unannounced at a remote prison in Briansk, carrying a prisoner's note written in blood. The story builds tension as he pushes through layers of guards and bureaucracy to question a former prosecutor locked inside. The film draws from real history, showing how the NKVD's secret police rounded up suspects for camps or execution. Alexander ignores warnings and meets the inmate, who shares brutal details of the crackdown without seeking personal revenge. His goal is simply to expose the truth, using his own injuries as proof. This tale comes from a novella by Georgi Demidov, a doctor who spent 14 years in labor camps. He wrote it in 1969, but it only saw print in 2009 after his death. Lasnitsa, known for documentaries, crashed his first fiction feature in seven years with

1:04a stark, parable-like style that echoes timeless warnings about challenging tyranny. As Alexander heads to Moscow to report to the top prosecutor, Andrey Vyszynsky, the barriers mirror the prison's endless doors and suspicion. His bold move backfires, trapping him in the system's grip just like his predecessor. Two prosecutors premiered in competition at last year's Kane Film Festival and hit theaters now from Janus Films. At 118 minutes in Russian and Ukrainian with subtitles, it earns three and a half stars for its chilling precision. You've been listening to entertainment and celebrity news today, AI-powered pop culture coverage.