stensson

(2013-05-04 02:37:50)

Moscow on our mind

She is rather old and lives with her rather old husband. If there waspassion, it's gone now and Elena serves. Both her husband and herno-good son, who lives in a bad suburb with his family. They are alldepending on Elena's serving.Her husband has a daughter, obviously living a destructive life. He hasa heart attack and ethics knock on the door. Who will inherited himwhen he dies and can something drastic be done about it? The film takesno moral standpoint. It's up to the viewer, who can't just be awatcher, but will make the moral decision himself. Good acting. Much tothink about, although not as much to feel about.

D. Elpunkt

(2013-05-04 00:29:19)

Excellent camera work and a realistic Russian fairy tale

Really beautiful camera and arrangement work, excellent acting and arealistic, silent story of a very strong woman. The dialogues were notdosed excessive and just right. I especially liked the ironic point of"fairy tale for the poor". Also the musical theme was interesting inits pure way. Nevertheless i've missed something. Can't say it clearly, maybe alittle dramatic or unexpected point at the end. Well, all in all it was a quiet good film and i would recommend it. AndI would like to congratulate again and again the cinematographic skill.Just watch it.

MyauMur

(2013-05-01 19:49:45)

Very bad movie.

Sorry, it's an awful film for such a site as IMDb. I'm disappointed byfinding it hear with good reviews. Somebody, please, be honest. It'simmoral movie with no particular idea. "Bears from Russia" for steadyEurope. Money for nothing, that is my opinion. Zvyagintsev should thinkbetter about people. If he can't, he must try to become better and tryto make others better. Not to make people feel stressed in this hardtimes. To tell the truth even 1 episode from the series "Sex in theCity", "An American Girl In Paris" - is much more loving and caring(though Russians are bastards there, as usual). Maybe it can teach thedirector something. I wish they give all the prizes to this soap opera!Soap opera, not gasoline-powered saw "Friendship". Tired from your grayability to create sauerkraut soup each time, our favorite traditionalcourse. (not only this director, but the whole company of"wondermakers" from this country). Aannd..."You know I love you,Russia". You can do better.

Earwicker

(2013-05-01 06:35:31)

A masterpiece of social realism combining old and new Russia

I saw this film on DVD and found it absolutely stunning. Apart from thewonderful cinematography, sound and pace, the story was a powerfulpiece of social realism but also an allegory of old and new Russia -not just post-Soviet Russia, portrayed as displaying the classdivisions between the wealthy bourgeoisie and the downcast proletariat,the similarities in modern Russia to the deprivations and petty crimeof western capitalism and the unthinking privileged status of thewealthy.Partly because of the slow pace and the doom-laden symbolism, theelderly man in his elegant home with his servile wife, at the outset Ifelt a sense of Chekhov. Maybe it was the theme of property and family,of age and inheritance, of a new generation growing up, but I would beinterested to know if the director deliberately referencedpre-revolutionary Russia in his film.The pace enabled the audience to absorb the intense sound thatcharacterised this film as much as the wonderful camera work. Not onlythe hypnotic music by Philip Glass, but the repeated brief sharpcawings of an uncannily loud rook, the sounds of domestic work, a doorslamming, curtains being gently opened... All this built up a greatfeeling of suspense, almost nail-biting, as we were forced to wait forthe outcome of Elena's actions as their consequences yawned in front ofus.The new Russia is clearly reduced to people down on their luck, drivento crime, yet strengthened by family solidarity. The working-classfamily may be sometimes feckless but there is love among them, and themother's steely determination to ensure a brighter future for hergrandson makes her actions seem not unjustified, in the face of anarrogant husband who treats her as a skivvy and despises her ownchildren and grandchildren. Even though he discovers that he loves hisown daughter, their feelings for each other seem to be based on ashared amorality and lack of concern for others.There is also a dark, ironic and occasionally surreal humour underlyingthe apparently bleak tone - not just the Viagra, but the woman whokeeps getting pregnant, the train delayed by a horse, the Poe-esquecrow ...I have not had the chance to see much Russian cinema but this film haswhetted my appetite and I shall be looking out for more, especially bythis great film-maker.

chaos-rampant

(2013-03-17 06:39:59)

Portents and divinations

Depth in this or any other film has little to do with what you areactually trying to say. From my perspective, it is all about thedistance of your contemplative space where self dissolves from thetopmost level where characters have their worries. This is all prettynear the surface.The first half is obvious Bergman melodrama with characters eloquentlypresenting inner conflict, then from the funeral onwards you have againpretty obvious portents and divinations of doom—the dead man on thetracks, lights go off, the son has strayed, the untended infant thatwas maybe worth the crime.So normally I shouldn't like this.And yet, when the film ended, I was taken aback—it had simply whizzedby. This isn't the complete submersion I experience with Tarkovsky whounspools time as inner landscape, because there isn't much here tocontemplate. The filmmaker has simply achieved a remarkable flow.

Larry Silverstein

(2013-03-16 23:55:01)

Spellbinding Russian Drama

I found this Russian drama, impeccably directed by Andrey Zyagintsev,to be spellbinding and powerful. Zyagintsev has an amazing way ofproducing a constant tension, even when the most mundane acts of dailyliving are being carried out.Nadezhna Markina is pitch perfect as Elena, a retired nurse, who is nowmarried to the wealthy Vladimir(superbly portrayed by Andrey Smirnov).They live in a beautiful apartment is Moscow. Although they are onlymarried two years, their relationship apparently began ten years beforewhen Elena was Vladimir's nurse in the hospital.However, Elena's son Sergei, his wife Tanya, their older son Sasha, anda baby boy live "on the other side of the tracks" in a run down area.Each month, against Vlkadimir's wishes Elena collects her pension andtakes a train and a bus to visit her family and give them money to helpsupport them. Vladimir thinks that Sergei is an idler and is also nothappy that Sergei has not returned a loan from three years back.Elena has asked her husband to help her grandson Sasha bribe his wayinto a university, so that he doesn't have to serve in the Army. WhenVladimir expresses his reluctance Elena points out that he has noqualms about supporting his daughter who is bitter, ungrateful, andirresponsible. This, of course, causes all kinds of friction betweenVladimir and Elena, although overall they seem to have a lovingrelationship.One day, Vladimir suffers a heart attack while swimming in the gym. Heis eventually released and starts recovering at home with Elena actingas his nurse.He tells her that he's meeting with his attorney the following day todraw up a will. He will leave the bulk of his estate to his daughterbut that Elena will receive a generous monthly annuity. He also tellsher that he's made a final decision and will not help her grandsonfinancially.This sets off a series of events which if I disclosed would be completespoilers. Let's just say the events take a dark turn and Zyagintsevhandles it masterfully. I was riveted to the screen. With the powerfulmusical score in the background, the tension in the final parts of thefilm is maintained extremely well.I would highly recommend this movie to those that enjoy foreign dramaswith a cohesive and strong storyline.

filmtherapy

(2013-02-10 10:59:18)

Story and characters very believable

A rich older man Vladamir married to a middle aged woman Elena has aheart attack and reveals he is going to leave everything to hisunsympathetic daughter. He has refused to help Elena's family. Elenaalters fate in her favor.In a movie like this character development is everything and the actorsin this movie carry it off flawlessly. Vladamir and Elena are both verybelievable. Elena is not only believable but a sympathetic characterand you are glad she does what she does.If a movies success is measured by is the plot believable and do youcare about the characters and will you remember them...this moviesucceeds beautifully. In addition the whole atmosphere and ancillarycharacters are perfect in this.RECOMMEND

uncino_71

(2013-02-10 03:32:04)

Terrible

This is really terrible film. This is not a film but an essay ofZvyagintsev that is able to make west film. What about this film? Classstruggle? People that for money are able to do everything, no this filmis nothing, is empty. So this is a bad film? Yes it is, anyway thephoto direction is very good as previous films. But this is a film thatirritate, that is just made without respect of people watching it, withmusic that try to force your feeling. But what feeling? Nothing justempty. After there are some scenes of films without meaning. When lightgo away and he ask if they have candle. And wife answer why we shouldhave? I think this has some meaning but just for the director.

Boba_Fett1138

(2013-01-30 02:13:19)

Well made but not the most interesting of movies.

This is the sort of movie that will do well at film festivals and withcertain critics but for me it's all a bit too familiar, though there issimply no denying that this still remains a very well made movie.Kind of funny but while watching this movie it kept reminding me of adifferent Russian movie that I had seen; "Vozvrashchenie". I only foundout later that the movie indeed had been directed by the same director;Andrei Zvyagintsev. So he obviously is a person with a very strong anddistinctive style but yet I wasn't as intrigued with this movie as Iwas was with "Vozvrashchenie".It's a movie that shows how one event can change everything in afamily. That is good all but it's not exactly something that has neverbeen done in any movie before. I did wish that the movie would had donesome more interesting stuff at times with its story and characters butit instead makes the choice to be a simplistic and straightforward aspossible, which adds to the realism perhaps but not to the originalityand it doesn't make this the most interesting or effective genreexample either.The movie definitely takes the time to setup things but it feels a bitpointless at times. Really, the movie too often is showing youabsolutely nothing and some sequences are needlessly long. The moviewants you to fill in things for yourself mostly and doesn't just layout everything. It's the reason why the movie also often has no dialogat all in it. The first part and the final part of the movie is likethis. It seemed like things were developing- and starting to getinteresting in the middle but it doesn't ever push through.Still I can't be very negative toward this movie. It's obviously asuperior made movie, that is beautiful looking as well, with itscinematography, that helps to set up a nice mood for the movie. Alsonothing wrong with its storytelling. I mean, it does what it does well,even though it just isn't my cup of tea and it really isn't the best,most original, or intriguing example of the genre that I have everseen. It's great to watch still, if you are into these type of movies.A really good movie, you can still real easily do without though and ishardly the best that the genre currently has to offer.7/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

johno-21

(2013-01-29 12:31:40)

Blood is Thicker Than Water

I recently saw this at the 1012 Palm Springs International FilmFestival. Directed by Andrei Zvyaginsev who co-wrote the screenplaywith Oleg Negin this is the story of Elena (Nadezhda Markina) who isthe wife of a wealthy Russina Businessman Vladimer (Audrey Smirnov) asixty-something couple living in a beautiful apartment in an affluentpart of town. They've only been married a couple of years and Elena ismore of a live-in housekeeper to Vladimer than a equal partner spouse.Vladimer has an estranged daughter Katerina (Elena Lyadova) while Elenahas a son Sasha (Igor Ogurtsov). Sasha lives a trailer trash kind ofexistence, always out of work and living in a small apartment with hiswife (Eugenia Konushkina) and their ne'er-do-well son Sergei (AlexRozin). Elena wants to help out her family and resorts to criminal actsto do so after Vladimer refuses to let them sponge off him. Greatproduction design by Audrey Poncictrov and his art direction team withwonderful cinematography by Mikail Kirchman and good editing from AnnaMass the film also features a wonderful score by noted internationalfilm composer Phillip Glass. There is no middle class in this film asit centers around an upper class couple and a lower class family andtouches upon the homeless. The film is slow however and elicits littlesympathy for the characters. The central character, who you like atfirst, you end up not liking. The wealthy husband and his daughter, whoyou don't like at first, you kind of end up liking but the daughterlets you down and the son and his family, you never end up liking. Youreally end up disliking everyone in this film even though the fatherand daughter have a moment of reconciliation. Despite some good actingand a technically well made film this really never gets off the ground.I don't see how it received a Special Jury Prize at the Cannes FilmFestival. I would give it a generous 6.5 out of 10.

Sindre Kaspersen

(2013-01-02 05:18:19)

"Life-affirming and distinctly directed..."

Russian director and screenwriter Andrei Zvyagintsev's third featurefilm succeeding his award-winning feature film debut "The Return"(2003) and "The Banishment" (2007), was written by Oleg Negin and tellsthe story about Elena, a former nurse who lives with her wealthyhusband Vladimir. The middle-aged couple have a good marriage and whenElena's unemployed son Sergey and his wife, who lives nearby, needsfinancial support, Elena asks her husband to help them. Vladimir is notwilling to help her son and when he makes his daughter Katya his soleheiress, their relationship turns cold.This slow-paced and character-driven drama about a woman who wants tohelp her son from a previous relationship and a father who wants tohelp his daughter from a previous relationship, emphasizes the basicstruggle for love and how this causes mistrust and distances peoplefrom one another. With his precise camera movements, gritty milieudepictions and intimate portrayals of family relations, AndreiZvyagintsev creates great realism, tension and exceptional scenes of ababy.This minimalistic study of character is finely photographed by thedirector's frequent collaborator Mikail Krichman and has a poignant andremarkable instrumental score which creates an efficientlyunpredictable atmosphere and reinforces the concentrated narrativestructure. A witty, life-affirming and distinctly directed film withprominent and understated acting performances by Russian actressesNadezhda Markina and Yelena Lyadova, and Russian actor Andrey Smirnov.- 22nd Tromsø International Film Festival 2012

octopusluke

(2013-01-01 12:28:29)

One of the finest social-realism dramas of the year. An understated beauty of Russian cinema!

We're soon approaching the end of 2012. What a fabulous year for films,ey? Whilst I'm holding off completing my 'Top Movies of 2012′ untilChristmas time, I'm rapidly trying to cram in all of those movies I'vebeen desperate to see this year but, for some silly reason or another,have failed to get around to. Elena is such a film. The third featurefrom Russian modern master Andrey Zvyagintsev (The Return, TheBanishment), it's a frosty, portentous, and oddly beautiful depictionof conflict between contemporary Moscow's bourgeoisie and the humbleunderclass.Nadezhda Markina plays the title character Elena, a sixty-something,former state nurse turned docile housewife to the wealthy Russianaristocrat Vladimir (Andrey Smirnov). They met late in life when Elenawas once caring for Vladimir in a hospital bed, and started up anunlikely kinship. Whether it was a bond formed out of compromise orcompassion is unsure, but now, ten years on, their stale, lovelessmarriage is nothing more than a formality.Elena spends her days travelling by tram, train and bus to to visit herunemployed son from a previous marriage, Sergei (Andrei Smirnov).Living in the Projects and overlooking a disused power plant from theold communist days, he depends on his mother to support his family, andgets supplements from her pension money, and sly payments fromVladimir's estate.Vladimir's relationship with his daughter Katya is initially far morehostile, but just as parasitic. Begrudgingly labelling her as ahedonist, the concerned father has cut off any contact with Katya,happy to transfer monthly payments into her bank account, but notwilling to start up a paternal bond. After a heart attack puts Vladimirin hospital, Elena hatches a despicable plan to give her grandsonenough money to put him through university; a prevention from the harshlife in the Russian underclass.With deliberately slow pacing, long takes and a muted,quasi-apocalyptic colour palette, when it featured at Cannes this year,comparisons with prodigious Russian auteur were aplenty. But aside fromthese niggling aspects, Zvyagintsev is working within his ownsocial-realism vein; taking the conventions of melodrama andreconfiguring them into an abstemious framework. He manages to presenta quintessentially Russian cultural divide, but make it universallyengaging and cinematic through some incredible performers across theboard. Markina is astonishing in the lead. A taciturn character, sheuses expression and lost glances to perfectly encapsulate the neglectedwife-turned-carer, who is on the brink of depression and mania.The finest moment of the entire movie doesn't even include our leadinglady. Sitting in a private hospital bed, Vladimir's first and onlyencounter with daughter Katya is unnerving yet deeply poignant. Makingup for lost time, they share awkward, short exchanges at first, beforethe emotions soon come flooding to the surface and the pair are sharingsmiles and tears of joy, unbeknownst to them, for the last time.The glacial cinematography from Mikhail Krichman, along with apitch-perfect score from New York's Philip Glass, make Elena a film ofremarkable, modest beauty. Give it a few years to mature, and we'llsoon be heralding it as a modern masterpiece of some new Europeancinema movement. What movement? That's up for talented director AndreyZvyagintsev to decide.Read more reviews at http://www.366movies.com

gleb-9

(2012-12-30 06:05:43)

incredibly boring...

Well, the movie starts from watching a window of an apartment from theoutside... for about 10 minutes with a soundtrack recorded from a boredcraw. The sun is slowly rising, which is supposed to make those wastedminutes of your life an art. You got the idea, right? Despite decentacting, the entire movie is more or less... pointless. A woman killsand robs her husband to support her worthless soon and this is theentire story. Period. What can be more trivial than that? Don't we knowthat mothers love their children and can do anything to protect them?The actors look like they were constantly bored and were sleepingthrough the entire 109 minutes. Such a novel concept in film-making!Really folks, I'm shocked by the current IMDb rating of 7.7. Seemslike, all votes came from critics.Cheers!

es_dp

(2012-12-29 23:01:54)

Fascinating ambiguity

This movie is great, slow but beautiful, but the ambiguity is the bestpart, all the themes are condensed in the first and final frame, thinkabout it, what is worth? the welfare of many aside his flaws or thecoldness and sterility of few.The atmosphere is hypnotic.All the characters have reasonable grounds, all are ugly but very real.The synthesis to show the decadence and disillusionment of Russianyouth is strongthe performances are outstanding overhanging the main female characterwhich we do not know if understand or condemn and even though thecouple has some reason the mother instinct is prevalent, is simply agame of survival.

georgep53

(2012-12-13 08:17:08)

What Family Doesn't Have Its Ups And Downs

In the Hitchcock classic "Rear Window" wheelchair bound Jeff Jeffriesfills his idle time by peering through a window at his neighbors acrossthe courtyard. In Andrei Zvyagintsev's "Elena" we're the ones peeringthrough the window of an upscale apartment complex into the lives ofElena and Vladimir who've have been married for 10 years. Those yearshaven't been particularly kind to Elena a former nurse who's settledinto a life of loveless domesticity with her well-to-do husband. Shehas a married son, Sergei, who hasn't amounted to much and is contentto live off his mothers' pension. Vladimir has a nihilist daughter whohasn't amounted to much either but whereas he tends to gloss over herdysfunctional behavior he is unreservedly harsh in his assessment ofSergei. His relationship with Elena becomes severely strained by hisreluctance to help Sergei or his delinquent, teenage son who'll beforced to enter the army unless he can get into a college. Highlightedby a strong performance by Nadezhda Markina in the title role, "Elena"is a pretty suspenseful tale told with stunning realism. It's also athoroughly engrossing portrait of alienation: marital, societal andgenerational.

fedaykin666

(2012-12-12 21:03:45)

that's it?

The beautiful camera-work is not enough to redeem this utterly banaland empty story. The underlying message raises the old question ofutilitarianism: is the happiness of the many more important than thewealth of a few? This is as deep as it gets and disappointment awaitsat the end - is that all? The main character's motivations are not entirely convincing. The onlyinteresting character is the rich man's rebellious daughter. The restare pawns in a mundane play full of tediously and pointlesslyprotracted scenes of everyday life.Philip Glass returns with his equally banal and repetitive music, afive-minute repetition of one short motif.

chuck-526

(2012-12-10 07:24:19)

great visuals AND very relevant to these times

I find "Elena" to be a masterpiece, and am a bit taken aback that it'snot in wider distribution in the U.S. It has aspects of film noir,psychological thrillers, and tales of city life ...yet it can't bepigeon-holed into any of these genres.The one obvious difference with U.S. styles, and the one that may doom"Elena" to niche audiences, is the lack of any resolution, or even aclear ending. That alone may make it "art-house" rather than"mainstream".There are plenty of very long, slow takes, many of them mediumdistance. The camera tracks, dollies, and becomes hand-held asnecessary, and there are long shots and even a few closeups, but thelong slow medium shots predominate. I was reminded very much of "TheReturn". Once again, some things are never explained, for example thearithmetic suggests an 8-year affair before marriage, yet the couplesleep in separate beds. In one sense shots are of mundane things, butin another sense they're a bit unusual and visually exquisite. Thestyle is somewhat reminiscent of Tarkovsky, but a little more ordinaryand less mystical.The characters' psychology --which is key-- is shown through theirinteractions with their surroundings and with other people, rather thanthrough closeups of faces. Whenever sophisticated, very complexfeelings are portrayed through dialog, fortunately the subtitles keepup and allow the viewer to get into what's really going on. For examplethe dialog where the father and his estranged daughter bond over theirshared "badness" sounds unrealistically harebrained, but is quitebelievable when you see and read it.Especially with the sound track (quite a bit of the music is by PhilipGlass), there's a slight sense of foreboding or suspense throughout.However the tiny bit of actual violence that does occur comes at acompletely unexpected time, and at first doesn't even seem related tothe main story line. The film plays with --even makes a joke of-- theconventions of film noir. For example when a character feels guiltyabout the crime, the lights literally go dark (because of an electricpower shutoff).I found the Russian setting comfortably familiar, more familiar to myU.S. eyes than many European movie settings. Some things (a differentbrand of single serving coffee maker, a see-through electric hot waterpot) were a little different, but many things were similar. At onepoint Elena takes a thick book down from the top shelf and opens it andI saw lots of Cyrillic characters and no subtitles and thought "uh-oh,I'm going to get lost here". But it quickly became clear the book wasthe Russian version of the PDR (Physicians Desktop Reference), the bookthat describes all current drugs and their side effects andinteractions in great detail. Even a drug box contained a sheet of fineprint with detailed information about the drug, virtually identical towhat I've seen here.The themes are very modern, and very apropos to the U.S. Very largedisparities of wealth are shown, even within one family. (The "wealthy"apartment is even nicer than anything I've seen here, with all thecupboard doors and even the refrigerator door and dishwasher doorpainted to look like matching rough-cut slabs of a big log.) Quite abit of self-destructive behavior is shown ...but it's not clear there'sreally any opportunity for different behaviors anyway. Money is king,both in the sense of some individuals being "greedy" (one can almostsense Ebenezer Scrooge in the background), and in the sense that familymoney makes such a big difference in the environment it's a majordeterminant of the children's' personalities. (One gets the obvioussense some "juvenile delinquent" behavior would never have occurred ifthe opportunities in the "wealthy" neighborhood had been offered.)Money can even buy one's way out of the military and into college (evenwithout good grades). Many of the younger generation are to some extentexcluded from society and the economy; in fact a few are excludedcompletely (not just to some extent). And society often just doesn'thave a place for the next generation; one can't imagine some of thesecharacters giving their place to their children.The camera's insistent emphasis on a photo of what seems to be theyounger Elena looking eager to experience the world back thenunderlines the vast difference with how things have turned out for her,and thus the point that the society is just plain dysfunctional.

wandereramor

(2012-12-09 14:25:12)

Chekhov's Viagra

Elena is a film that's hard to talk about without giving the plot awaycompletely, mostly because there isn't that much of a plot to beginwith. It's a meticulous and brutal realist story with a briefintermission of a suspenseful, if distinctly strange, crime story.The central conflict is between the ideas of worth and charity -- inother words, between the idealistic justifications of capitalism andcommunism. This is especially relevant to both contemporary Russia andthe broader economic standpoint. Elena's relatives are, and this isrefreshing, not your ideal welfare candidates disadvantaged by thesystem -- they *are* disadvantaged by the system, but they're also alittle bit lazy and a little bit needy, and not entirely that likable.Elena's actions are nicely ambiguous, as she simultaneously gives andtakes away, is hero and villain. This film is smarter than most inrefusing to side entirely with either individual or societalexplanations. Still, in the end it does seem to tip a bit too heavytowards the demonization of Elena's family -- the final shot, with thechild left alone in potential danger, feels borderline insulting.Nazehda Markina and Andrey Smirnov do an excellent job as the centralcouple, managing to create an air of quiet despair around themselvesand especially around the two of them as a couple. Andrey Zyvagintsevmakes the picture look great, but he seems to linger too much onmundanity, even for an art-house film like this. There's a fine linebetween being meditative and being dull, and Elena sits precariously onit. In the end, I can't help but think that this would have made agreat short film but is a baggy feature. But the core ideas still shinethrough, so perhaps it's a success on its own terms.

peppyaiolov

(2012-12-07 07:16:02)

Great, Great Zvyagintsev again !

First I'd like to say that I really understand the point of alldisappointed Zvyagintsev fans after his two previous films:Izgnanie andVozvrashchenie .These movies were "global", not only Russian, but "forall people". This movie is strictly Russian and thats why people did'n like it. Inmy opinion this movie shows the real greatness of this wonderfuldirector Andrey Zvyagintsev. He could continue making "global" movies"for the world". like Iñárritu or for the end of it like LvT, but he isa Russian and he made film about the moral situation in Russia.In 2009 Zvyagintsev was offered 8 million $ from producer Oliver Dungeyto make a film for the end of the world like "The Sacrifice"1986 .Iguess that LvT took the money and did "Melancholia".Instead Zvyagintsevdid "Elena", and this is the end of the world for him: "the end of theworld as we know it" as Charles Foster Kane is saying."Elena' is theend of the "moral world" as we know it, at least for Zvyagintsev.This film is about existential values, no other values exist inpost-communist, pseudo-religious Russia.There are only TV values.We canonly hear the "TV preachings" throughout the movie and actually see thescreen just at the end when the family stays at the apartment of thekilled man.So what happens: A rich man is killed by his wife who is aformer nurse, because he do not to put her in his will and the familyof her unemployed son with three kids will stay without support."The last will be first." says Elena just before to kill in cold bloodhis husband. The mother will do everything for her child andgrandchildren. Love is evil,like Zizek says.In the name of love,millions of people has been killed.The love towards one is hatredtowards somebody else.The main principle in universe is scarcity, Sartrsays.There isn't enough love nor yet enough money for everyone.So whatwe people do? We kill.We kill for money,we kill for love ...we kill foroil!" A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a timeto build up." like they say in the Bible. This movie is a mixture of "The Shop on Main Street"1965, "Crimes andMisdemeanors"1989, "Uzak" 2002 and "Cargo 200" 2007 so before to judge"Elena" please watch these movies first.I think that "Elena"it is a real 21-st century film.It is film about"The banality of evil". Evil which is part of us all, the evil ofeveryday life. It is an open question of the moral values of thecontemporary society. The question is coming from Russia and from allthe former communist countries : How to live now ,when the "evilempire" of communism is dead. Where is the moral superiority of thecapitalism? In the "world with TV Religion" is it OK to kill an old andill man and to take the money in the name of children? GREAT GREAT FILM.THANK YOU ZVYAGINTSEV.

unis unis

(2012-12-06 11:30:20)

Waste of time

In short: just read the "Storyline" written on this web and you don'thave to watch the film.one of the most boring films ever.The story is weak, the acting is normal, nothing Impressive. credit to"Andrey Smirnov" though.If you liked "The New World" or "Find Me Guilty" then you may like thisone.thats all i want to say , but the website asked for 10 lines at least.and i didn't like this film at all so i wanted to warn you people. Ihope other Russian movies will be better. I heard its getting betterthank you