The Thief: Movie, DVD Review (2009)

Of Stalin, Hitler once said: “He’s a beast, but he’s a beast on a grand scale who must command our unconditional respect. In his own way, he’s a hell of a fellow!”

Clearly, it takes one beast to back-slap another, but for post-Soviet Russian filmmakers, finding the nerve to finally come to terms with the bloody history of Stalin’s former stronghold has been a beast in and of itself.

Pavel Chukhrai’s “The Thief” follows Nikita Mikhalkov’s Academy Award-winning “Burnt by the Sun” (1994) in that it takes a successful leap in that direction. Through an extended metaphor that follows its three main characters during the initial throes of the Cold War, his film explores Stalin’s brutal influence with often harrowing results.

Told from the viewpoint of 6-year-old Sanya (the remarkable Misha Philipchuk), the film follows the boy’s relationship with his mother, Katya, (Ekaterina Rednikova) and the dashing soldier, Tolyan (Vladimir Mashkov), who meet on a train and masquerade as husband and wife in an effort to secure communal housing.

But Katya, who is meant to symbolize Mother Russia, has been misled by Tolyan, who represents Stalin: the man is a thief who steals from the poor with complete disregard for the repercussions of his actions.

His treatment of Katya is abusive, yet seductive, even protective--he’s a potent, powerful lover who whispers a mouthful of lies even while providing for mother and child. When his leadership fails and it’s revealed to Katya that this god is nothing but a crook, she and her son nevertheless still love him, which is perhaps the most powerful statement this excellent film makes about Russia’s complex relationship with their former leader.

Grade: A-