Statskiy sovetnik

Adaptation of Boris Akunin's famous novel about 19-th century Russian sleuth Erast Petrovich Fandorin solving an assassination of a hot shot general by a terrorist group called "BG". Directed by young Russian film-maker Filip Yankovski with all-star cast in it.

Finally, after shallow "Azazel" and awful "Turkish Gambit" the audience can view a wonderful piece of film making with some stunning performances. Every single actor does a superb job and demonstrates excellent acting. Mature Erast Fandorin played by Oleg Menshikov is just like the one in the book - daring, unemotional and mysterious. He is quite a silent character in the film, musing most of the time, but the great acting skills of Menshikov are demonstrated in these very scenes. Green played by Konstantin Khabenskii is great as well - nervous, reckless but brave and charming. Nikita Mikhalkov is playing Pojarskii and I have to admit that he is playing his part real well. His character has the most lines. A very controversial character, at times comical and sometimes even devilish.

A few words about cinematography, screenplay and editing. Film has a lot of dark, white and red in it and such mixture of colors makes a picture very organic. Creation of 19-th century Moscow atmosphere was in my opinion achieved with great success: "troika" carriages on snowy streets, glamorous Russian castles and various beautiful costumes. Screenplay and editing are done so well that I didn't even notice how three hours passed. Dialogues are very well written and at the same time they so well spoken that it's a pleasure to listen to them and they don't tend to bore or tire. On the other hand a lot of action takes place and what is the most interesting - the end of the film differs from the same of the novel, so even those who have read the book and thus know the whole story, will still be surprised.

I've read the book "Statskiy sovetnik" before. When i heard the news that a movie is being made on that novel, i was wondering why THAT novel. I was curious how the director would manage to make a dynamic movie on a rather specific and long story. Especially knowing that the director is rather young and some sort of a beginner in making such "BIG" movies. But Filipp Yankovsky had really made it! By the way he is a son of a very famous Russian theater\movie actor - Oleg Yankovsky. Great dialogues and closeups. Famous Russian director - Nikita Mikhalkov, shows GREAT acting skills, playing Prince Pozharsky, sometimes even drawing most of attention from the main character - Fandorin. All characters surely showed their best in this great dynamic movie. Those who are interested in Russian history will certainly gain a lot of experience, because Akunin pays very much attention to all historical details. Great movie!

Around the time that I watched Filipp Yankovsky's "Statskiy sovetnik" ("The State Counsellor" in English), I read Boris Akunin's "Altyn Tolobas", depicting Erast Fandorin's grandson. It's worth comparing and contrasting the stories, but the eras in which they take place. The stories featuring Erast Fandorin take place in czarist Russia, while the ones featuring Nicholas Fandorin (raised in England due to his mother having fled the 1917 revolution) take place after the Soviet Union broke up.

Anyway, in this movie we see Erast Fandorin trying to stop a revolutionary group from overthrowing the czar, but his dealings with Prince Pozharsky complicate things. Practically every character in the movie has something to hide. I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, but I like how they laid out the plot, and the casting was just right. Worth seeing.

I watched this movie with my family in a movie theater in Saint-Petersburg. I chose this movie by accident because other movies would start in an hour or so and we didn't have any time.

Anyway :) having no expectations at all, I really enjoyed the movie. Honestly, i have to say it is one of the best Russian movies I have ever watched. The story is great (Boris Akunin), casting is great, sound effects are good, decorations are great and actors play very well. You can easily see that a lot of money, effort and talent is put to this movie. It kinda shows the new rise of Russian cinematography and that makes me particularly proud of this movie.

This movie is a sort of continuum of the movie Tureckij Gambit (Both are part of Boris Akunin's book series). The two movies are not linked together however, except having the same hero (Fandorin).

I recommend this movie to everyone. Way to go Russia ! (y)

Befoure I watched the film I was a little disappointed by the reviews. Because such a great cast I expected everyone to sing psalms of the film.

Fortunatly the critics in my opinion were mostly wrong. Although Fandorin is shockingly cold the first time we see him, he becomes believable as the film progresses. Mashkov who played Kozyr' is simply amazing. His whole over the top-act, the slang is just so fun to watch. Khabenski does well, and Fandera, who plays Igla is wonderful, very believable. Emiliya Spivak is somewhat irritating, but is what she should have been according to the book. Though of course it is Nikita Mikhalkov who steals the show. A lot can be said about his intrigues at the Russian Film Guild, but he is without a doubt a great actor fit for specific roles. He is at his best when he plays a "Barin", as in "Bespridannica".

The action is quick, brutal and not flashy, even the sound of gunfire seems somewhat muffled. There isn't an awful lot of action since it is a Crime movie, not an action film. For some reason they didn't really pay attention to Masa, because he was far too young, and not round enough (according to the book he was "short and round like a barrel"). Green's character was somewhat downsized in the film too, with little background, like the facts that he was Jewish and his whole routine, so I felt that was missed out, because while Igla's motivation is present Green's is none existent. However unless you have read the book you wouldn't notice such nuances, and even if you have not you would not dwell on them.

The cinematography is very good, the way light and shadows are used makes some shots worthy of being posters, or photos.

So overall I would say that this movie was excellent despite some very minor imperfections.