I would first like to say that the reviewer who calls himself mravsky has obviously misunderstood this film. This is NOT an anti-Albanian film at all. It is a film that condemns nationalism. The very proof of that is the character of Abaz, the older brother of male protagonist, who works for the Serbian police. He totally breaks with the stereotype of an Albanian, being an anti-nationalist who works for Serbian regime and scorns nationalist Albanians. Yet he doesn't feel any less Albanian. When his arrogant colleague makes a comment about Albanians calling themselves Shiptari but taking offense when Serbs call them that, he responds "No, we call ourselves Albanians".
I really don't know where the reviewer could get the impression that the director was trying to present Serbs as "cooler" than the westerners. It's obviously a case of poor interpretation. Miljaim (Trifunovic) lives in Switzerland and goes under the guise of an Italian businessman, while in reality working as an assassin for the Kosovo Albanian mob. Ergo, he is not a Serb, nor does he ever appear as cooler than anybody in the west, as there are no major interactions with western people.
Adrijana (Jokovic) is a daughter of a Serbian teacher (Samardzic) who falls for Miljaim, thinking him to be the dashing Italian businessman. At first their life together is happy, but as Miljaim makes them move around all the time, Adrijana seeks an explanation. Miljaim gives in and starts talking in Serbian, explaining who he is. Despite this, their love is too strong and they stay together. Soon however, the young couple must face consequences of their love. The title Strsljen (Serbian for "Hornet") comes from Miljaim's assassin name. As mentioned, his brother Abaz, played by the excellent Montenegrin actor Branislav Popovic, is a high ranking policeman who is trying to find out the identity of the feared Hornet and catch him before he can commit a politically-based murder in Kosovo. This builds up to a very intense climax.
Sergej Trifunovic is very good as always and very intense in the role that was meant to be just that. Mirjana Jokovic also makes a good performance and good old Ljubisa Samardzic, who by the way DID NOT direct this film, does well in his supporting role. Popovic was the most pleasant surprise for me here, because I had never before seen or heard of him and he does a helluva job in a very interesting role. Meto Jovanovski is a profiled Macedonian actor who appears briefly as Abaz and Miljaim's father who denounces Abaz and hails Miljaim as a hero.
In the end, I'd just like to say that this film hasn't a nationalistic fiber in it and its sad that it can be misinterpreted as that. Albanians are never portrayed as savage and primitive and the whole depiction of life in Kosovo is very realistic. The existence of the Kosovo Albanian mob in Western Europe is very real and well documented. To make a movie about it should not be considered anti-Albanian, even if the director is a Serb. Yet that theme is just a platform for the main theme, the difficult love story between two people on opposite sides of the conflict. I recommend this movie for everyone who likes a good film-noir thriller and also for those who are interested in the Kosovo topic. They are likely to find satisfaction in this work.
