Andrei Mironov Movies

Anna Politkovskaya was a Russian reporter who regularly wrote for Novaya Gazyeta, one of the country's few independent journals. In a nation where political corruption is widespread and exposing the misdeeds of the nation's leaders often has dangerous consequences, Politkovskaya was a fearless voice whose stories demanded responsibility from Vladimir Putin and his colleagues while decrying Russia's actions in Chechnya, which she labeled as genocide. While Politkovskaya writings earned her respect and made her one of the nation's best known journalists, they also angered many powerful people; she nearly died after she was poisoned in 2004 while covering the Beslan school hostage case, and in October 2006 she was shot and killed by an unknown gunman while riding an elevator in her apartment building; many of her friends and family believe she was assassinated by government agents. Filmmaker Eric Bergkraut struck up a friendship with Politkovskaya while making his documentary Coca: The Dove From Chechnya, and Ein Artikel zu viel: Der Mord an Anna Politkowskaja (aka Letter To Anna: The Story Of Journalist Politkovskaya's Death features archival interviews with the late reporter, as well as contributions from colleagues and loved ones who discuss her work and offer their views on her suspicious passing. Letter To Anna received its North American premiere at the 2008 Toronto Hot Docs Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this fantasy with dragons and flying machines, 10-year-old Marta (Tatiana Aksyuta) is determined to find her brother who was kidnapped at Christmastime by a fake Saint Nick because the little boy is blessed with the ability to locate gold. A kindly, wise philosopher-type by the name of Orlando (Andrei Mironov) joins Marta in her search, and together they survive a gigantic sleeping dragon and imprisonment in a tower with no clear means of escape. They overcome that hurdle, but later on, Orlando succumbs to the evils of The Plague (an all-consuming woman!) and Marta continues on her search alone. Eventually, she does find her brother -- but that only introduces problems she had never considered. Professional and well-interpreted, this make-believe story might have a few unusual moments that still do not ultimately detract from the entertaining tale. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Alexei German's third film as director is based on stories written by his father, prominent author Yuri German. The mostly black-and-white film begins with a present-day color sequence, then reverts to monochrome and the freezing winter of 1935, when the narrator was nine years old. The boy lived in an apartment with his father and two other men, Police Chief Ivan Lapshin (Andrei Boltnev) and his officious underling (Alexei Zharkov). The story focuses on Lapshin as he tracks down a gang of crooks in his provincial Russian village, helps his recently widowed friend, and enters into a tentative relationship with an actress (Nina Ruslanova). Capable direction by German and a talented ensemble cast make this detailed look at the pre-purge Soviet Union both entertaining and richly rewarding. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide