The Rifleman of the Voroshilov Regiment (1999)

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

"The Rifleman of the Voroshilov Regiment" admittedly has on one of the most overused and routine plots that exists in our traditional cinematic universe. It's yet another umpteenth version of the "Death Wish" story line, but still there are two tiny aspects that make the film quite unique and really made me want to see it. First of all, it's an authentic Russian production; entirely spoken in the native language and with those bizarre letters from the Russian alphabet used the title sequences. Honestly how many "regular" thrillers from Russia do you have the chance of seeing in your life? I've seen a handful of oddball Russian Sci-Fi movies from the sixties, and more recently the "Night Watch" trilogy, but those are all fancier films that were intended for the international export market. "The Rifleman of the Voroshilov Regiment" is a really small-scaled film, shot in a typical Russian village and starring ordinary Russian people. Secondly, the loving family member bent on extracting blood vengeance isn't the girl's father, brother or fiancée…It's her grandfather! On her way back home on a bright Wednesday afternoon, the incredibly cute teenage girl Katya is lured into the apartment of three macho thugs, one of which she went to school with. It naturally doesn't take long before they drug and gang-rape her. The investigation is rapidly closed, since one of the rapists' father is the police commissioner. Katya's devoted granddaddy Fjodorovich can't accept that his sweet girl locks herself inside the house and grows increasingly paranoid while those filthy scumbags remain unpunished, so he buys himself a massive – and I do mean MASSIVE – sniper rifle and meticulously prepares his quest for revenge. What are the differences between an average aged Charles Bronson and a retired 70-year-old one? I guess it's in the details. Fjodorovich carefully puts the flowerpots back on the table after he shot a rapist in the testicles from a window across the street, rejoins his friends who are playing chess on the market square and stands along in the curious crowd when the ambulance arrives. The screenplay also masterfully captures how Fjodorovich clearly doesn't care too much about what the possible consequences are for him in case he gets caught; as he purely acts out of love and compassion for his beloved granddaughter. "The Rifleman of the Voroshilov Regiment" is a slow- paced, but beautifully intense and absorbing drama rather than an exciting and furious revenge thriller. Our senior citizen Mikhail Ulyanov puts down a magnificent performance and, thanks to him coming across as a completely normal and prototypical grandfather, his character promptly earns all the viewer's sympathy and support. The rest of the cast is very good as well, the musical score is serene yet sublime and the climax (more or less anti-climax, in fact) is courageous, intelligent and subtle. This film is fairly obscure, but worth tracking down for sure. The copy that I own started with apologies from the company that provided the subtitles for all the probable errors. Yes, well, many of the wordings in English were quite incorrect, but on the other hand I never would have been able to follow the movie if it were in Russian, so I gladly forgive them!

Greetings from Lithania."The Rifleman of the Voroshilov Regiment" (1999) is a very simple movie, but a very good one at the same time. The story here is crystal clear, but it is the good script, great acting by Mikhail Ulyanov and crystal clear directing what makes this movie work. It is a very "local" story, but it could have been anywhere in a world, the story here is universal, far by any moons from anything original, but its a good movie making what is the most important, and "The Rifleman of the Voroshilov Regiment" has one.Overall, "The Rifleman of the Voroshilov Regiment" is a simple yet very good movie. It is highly involving and crystal clear story. Very good movie all around.

This movie is not just about a story line or suspense thriller filled with twists and turns.Its about an old man to whom her grand daughter is everything. It makes you feel the emotional attachment and strong bonding between an old man and her innocent grand daughter.It shows when the person you love the most gets hurt how it affects you.You try to get justice in every possible means but fail in every measure.The only option left is nothing but to do something on your own.Brutal crimes like rape leaves victim in trauma for whole life. And when such thing happens with the person you love the most it naturally hurts you more mentally.Same happens with the man whose grand daughter,a young innocent teenager gets gang raped by 3 drunkards and perverts. Trying hard to resort to judicious measures to put accused behind bars he fails and thus decides to teach them a lesson on his own.The old man himself being a sharp shooter starts taking revenge targeting private parts of the rapists(not to kill them) so that those perverts could never do such crime again.In conclusion i want to say that when one's loved one is a victim of such a heinous crime and when all police and judicial measures fail to provide you justice you have to do something even if it is against law.You cant leave everything on God that those who steel,murder or rape will be punished by him some day in some way.Remember God helps those who help themselves.This shows a love of an old man for her innocent grandchild.This movie left me in tears.Mikhail Ulyanov's acting as old man will move you and her grand daughter innocent acting will surely leave you in tears.This is the first Russian movie i watched and recommend it to all others if you love some one more than your own life.

As the summary already said, this movie has a typical post-soviet storyline. So, if you expect an original plot you will be disappointed eventually. The plot as well as character development is pretty simple. Many scenes are set way to obvious, so that you're able to guess what's going to happen next. This, of course, makes the movie less exciting than it could be.However, there are things I really liked about this movie. I think that the actor who played the granddad was great. You really believe him, you feel what he feels and you will be surprised how much strength this old man can bring up and how determine he is seeking for justice. That's all this movie delivers. It's simple and entertaining, definitely worth watching, there's just nothing special about it...