Nina Grebeshkova Movies

Veteran director Georgi Daneliya proves that he's still in good form with this offbeat romantic comedy. When Oleg Chagin (Kirill Pirogov) learns that back home his fiancée Lena has married another man, he quits his job in Siberia and rushes to Moscow. The film depicts his trials and tribulations while attempting to win her back. ~ Yuri German, Rovi

This semi-realistic comedy-fantasy by director and co-writer Georgi Danelia features a lower-level bureaucrat who snaps on the way home from work after a particularly stressful day at the office -- and begins to let loose what he really thinks, no matter the consequences. As his wife is talking on the phone, he grabs the receiver and hangs it up -- she is addicted to talking on the phone and this has always bothered him. His son-in-law and daughter use the television set as a babysitter for the man's granddaughter, and so he blows off steam at them too, demanding his son-in-law go out and find a job. Then he leaves and, after some minor adventures, heads to the office the following morning where he tells everyone else off -- all the petty crooks who take or give small bribes for favors. Although in the end he cannot stand life at all and tries several versions of suicide, he fails miserably each time and finally talks to his granddaughter on the phone who seems to have a remedy for him. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

It is 1927, and a former noblewoman's son-in-law (Sergei Filippov) hears from her deathbed that during the revolution, ten years ago, she hid the family jewels in one of a set of twelve chairs. He teams up with a charming con man (Archil Gomiashvili) to find all twelve. This film, told in a sly, slapstick style, holds many surprises as it recounts their desperate efforts to find the jewelled chair of the set, which has been scattered to the four winds. The story is based on the satirical Russian novel The Twelve Chairs which offered a keen, humorous depiction of certain Soviet types during the so-called NEP (New Economic Policy), which allowed certain entrepreneurial activities to take place. This novel has been the subject for many films -- including one by Mel Brooks--and was the basis for a popular Russian TV mini-series. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Directed and co-written by Leonid Gaidai, Brilliantovaya Ruka follows the misadventures of Semyon Gorbunkov (Yuri Nikulin), a kind hearted family man who has the bad luck of breaking his arm while vacationing. As circumstance would have it, a gang of smugglers had been ordered to wait for a fellow thief to stage such an event in the same location where Gorbunkov had quite unintentionally fallen. Under the impression that he was in on the plan, the smugglers whisked an oblivious Gorbunkov to an emergency "clinic" where his cast was filled with several million dollars worth of diamonds before he was sent home. The gangsters quickly realize their bungle, however, and head out to reclaim the stolen merchandise through whatever means necessary. When Gorbunkov finally realizes the value in his arm, he contacts the authorities and begins participating in a highly secret effort to return the diamonds to their rightful owner. With 76.7 million admissions in its homeland, the film was a box-office leader in 1969 Soviet cinema. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

This is a conventional, wartime drama by Jean Dreville about the French pilots who escaped the Nazi occupation of their country to join the Russians in fighting the Germans. The Frenchmen are put together in one squadron after they arrive in Russia, and language barriers prove not to be insurmountable in the end. As forays are flown in combat, the French suffer their own losses along with the Russians. Meanwhile, some background on the political currents in France during the Vichy government is provided. Location footage in Russia and historical, archival shots add to the realism of the story. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The storyline of the Russian The Horsemen spans the whole of WW II, from the beginning of hostilities in 1939 to VJ day in 1945. The main character is a farmer-jockey named Vasya (Sergei Gurzo), more concerned with horseracing than the affairs of the world. Vasya's personal travails don't amount to a hill of beans when the Nazis invade his homeland. Through a series of incredible plot convolutions, both Vasya and his prize horse become involved in the Resistance movement. Despite its wartime trappings, The Horsemen borrows heavily from Hollywood westerns during many of its action highlights. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi