Tak zhit nelzya

"Tak zhit nelzya" (meaning "You Can't Live Like That") is a documentary comparing and contrasting the United States and Soviet Union. We see people's bleak existences in the USSR along with New York ghettos; the Soviet documentary maker is the only white person in the ghetto! At one point, the documentary maker comes across a woman protesting the usage of fur for clothes, and he assumes that she's getting paid to do it (in the USSR, they assumed that Americans only do things for money). At one point, we even get to hear Glenn Miller's "In the Mood" to introduce the USA! Anyway, it's not the greatest documentary ever made, but I recommend it as a look at the differences - and occasional similarities - between the superpowers.

This title was referenced in an article by Peter Hitchens about the end of the ColdWar. The film contains shocking scenes of crime scenes and police procedures in the USSR while comparing these with scenes from the United States and interviews with police in New York. There is a very emotional contrast between a police funeral in the US and in Russia, as well as footage of abandoned soviet work camps,crumbling apartment complexes,and the contrast between the well provisioned stores for Party members and the haggard and frenzied crowds attempting to buy basic provisions at local stores open to the public. The dialog is not subtitled but an English speaker can follow along and receive an unforgettable glimpse into the world of the USSR just as it transitions to glasnost and the Yeltsin era. If you are interested in Russian history don't miss it.