Soviet noir so iconic, Russians still quote it 45 years later.
Summer of 1945. The salute of the Great Victory died down and the country is gradually returning to peaceful life. From "fire yes into the fire" a young reconnaissance commander Volodya Sharapov falls, having come to the MUR for distribution, to the department for combating banditry. In the city the Black Cat gang rages, terrifying Muscovites. Captain Gleb Zheglov enters the fray with the bandits, for whom Sharapov soon becomes his right hand.
Acting
Vysotsky's Zheglov—charismatic, broken, unforgettable.
Direction
Govorukhin sculpts Moscow shadows like German expressionism.
Writing
Dialogue so sharp, half of it became catchphrases.
Director
Stanislav Govorukhin
Vladimir Vysotsky
Gleb Zheglov
Vladimir Konkin
Vladimir Sharapov
Sergei Yursky
Gruzdev
Viktor Pavlov
Levchenko
Natalya Fateyeva
Sobolevskaya
Leonid Kuravlyov
"Smoked"
Svetlana Svetlichnaya
Nadya
Aleksandr Belyavskiy
Yevgeni Fox
Evgeniy Evstigneev
Ruchnikov
Armen Dzhigarkhanyan
"Hunchback"
Natalya Danilova
Valeriya Zaklunnaya
Klavdiya
Zinoviy Gerdt
Bomze
Yevgeni Shutov
Pankov
Lev Perfilov
Гриша Ушивин
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Vysotsky, a Soviet counterculture icon, made Zheglov so beloved that audiences ignored his moral corruption—intentionally subversive casting.
The 'Black Cat' gang was real; Govorukhin interviewed surviving detectives, stealing their actual cases and slang verbatim.
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