Moscow Never Sleeps

I saw this movie at its Moscow premier and thought it was excellent. The casting was very good, and I thought that the movie gave as accurate an impression as I've seen in a movie.

While of course any movie will rely on stereotypes to a certain extent, this film made all of the characters and scenes interesting and believable, and sketched out several Moscow stereotypes, including the big businessman, the popular celebrity, the good girls, the bad girls, the hoodlums, the Soviet babushka, and the people that interact with them in a satisfying way. In addition, the movie's portrayal of Moscow nightlife, traffic, and attitudes rings true.

I thought that the cinematography was excellent. While the film is generally not political, there are a few scenes with political overtones, including at least one which generated spontaneous applause at the premier.

I went into this movie not expecting any in particular but enjoyed it very much and highly recommend to anyone interested in a very good contemporary Russian film.