Original subtitles

This is your new squad.

Some squad!

They each need three assistants:

two to support them,

and a third to move their legs.

Wake up!

These are the papers the commander wants to burn.

He's the one who's going to do it.

Do you have a cell that locks properly?

They all lock properly. New locks.

Come on, take him away.

Come on, go on!

What's in the bag?

All the prison secrets?

Or last year's building estimates? 16

None of your business, just burn it.

Got it?

Got it.

Come in.

Burn everything in this bag in that stove.

And no funny business: you keep nothing.

Otherwise, it's a month in solitary guaranteed.

Understood?

Matches.

Here. That's enough for you.

You'll give me back the box.

Close it.

What's he here for?

S.P.I.

Well, well! "Socially harmful element"?

And I thought he was

a woodyard keeper

who had been tricked by thieves. Well, I never!

He might have been a madam in a brothel.

"Dear Comrade Stalin,

"My name is Smirnov,

"Ivan Sergeyevich,

"member of the Bolshevik Party since before the Revolution.

"I am falsely accused of belonging to the Trotsky-Bukharin bloc

"and I am being forced to confess

"during violent interrogations..."

"Dearest leader, Comrade Stalin, we, the brothers

"Pestrukhin,

"kolkhozniks, former guards of the Red Army,

"are accused... of corrupting

"the Soviet state... extorting

"confessions under torture..."

What monsters! "We are devoted

"to the cause of the Communist Party and have shed our blood...

"have shed our blood for it..."

We shed our blood for it.

"Factory manager...

"wrongly accused...

"under torture...

"no strength left to endure...

"please intervene...

"justice...

"Communist."

Communist justice.

Communist... Justice.

BRIANSK REGIONAL PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE

"I ask the representative of the public prosecutor's office

to visit me in my cell

"to communicate crucial information.

"Stepniak, I.S."

You have to knock.

What do you want?

We're going to the boss.

Open up.

He's here to see the commander.

Come in.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Sit down, Comrade Prosecutor.

I'm listening.

You have here the prisoner Ivan Stepniak.

The prosecution has received a request from him to visit.

Well, I never!

But we have tens of thousands of prisoners here.

Do you have the number of the building,

of the cell of this...

Ivan Stepniak. Yes: building 5, cell 84.

The Special Building?

Did you receive a request from the Special Building?

Yes, why?

No reason.

No reason.

Sorry.

Yes.

No.

Yes.

I don't know, ask Petrovitch.

Again?

Put them in building 1.

No, not interrogated yet.

Yes.

Understood.

All right.

Young man,

issuing a pass to see a prisoner

under the jurisdiction of the NKVD Regional Directorate

can only be obtained from the prison governor.

I'm sorry, but you'll have to come back

or wait for him to return.

Will it be long?

There are numerous meetings taking place in management

concerning prisoner assignments.

They usually last a long time.

I'll wait.

Can I wait here?

Of course.

Especially since I need to go into a building.

They're all overcrowded,

which means a huge amount of work.

And so...

Please don't be angry with me for leaving you here alone.

Work, you know.

Make yourself comfortable.

Thank you.

Open up.

Yes!

Do you know what Radek replied in prison to:

"What were you doing before the Revolution?"

No.

"I was waiting in prison."

And to the question: "And after the Revolution?"

No.

"Prison was waiting for me."

So, what's going on?

I've got a young lad from the public prosecutor's office.

Have they appointed the new one yet?

And?

He wants to see the prisoner in cell 84 of the BS.

Stepniak?

How does he know he's in that cell?

No idea.

Petrovich,

I have the new prosecutor here.

Yes, they didn't waste any time.

A young lad.

He wants to see an inmate in the Special Building.

All right.

All right.

What if he insists?

All right.

Did you tell him what Radek said?

Yes, of course, I'll report back to you.

Let's give him a bit of time to think about it.

If he's still here by tonight, bring him to me.

Very well.

"Prison was waiting for him!"

Don't just stand there, get to work.

Come on, get to work!

Isn't the deputy here?

No.

Where is he?

He had something to do.

And who are you?

I'm a prosecutor.

And to whom do I have the honour?

It doesn't matter.

So?

The director is waiting for you.

Open up.

Yes?

He's here.

Come in, please.

Sorry to keep you waiting,

but I was held up by my superiors.

These are difficult times, as you know.

Please, take a seat.

It's a pleasure to meet you.

We're used to seeing older people in this position,

but times are changing

and our ideas about what young people can do

are outdated.

Let's say that the entire state apparatus is undergoing a rejuvenation.

And what is the status of the request I made?

You have undoubtedly been informed.

Yes, of course, I have been informed.

But, you see,

I think your interview with the prisoner

should be postponed until better days.

For what reason?

In fact,

given the overcrowding in this prison

- which you cannot be unaware of -

it is sometimes impossible to comply with health standards.

Hence frequent outbreaks of infectious diseases:

diphtheria, typhoid, and sometimes even typhus.

This was particularly true of the unfortunate Building 5,

which we call among ourselves the Special Building,

because that is where those convicted

for counter-revolutionary activities.

And it is precisely among them that a variety

of infectious diseases is proliferating.

I strongly advise against

to even glance at it

to anyone whose job does not require it.

But I am here to do what my job requires. 201

Yes, of course.

What I meant was...

If a guard, for example,

cannot miss a shift, a prosecutor, on the other hand,

can easily postpone an interview with a prisoner.

Without this affecting the substance of the case.

But the reason I strongly advise against it is that this prisoner

wants to see Comrade Kornev

is, according to the doctors,

to be a carrier of one of these diseases.

In this case, this prisoner must be transferred to the prison hospital.

This is necessary

if the prisoner shares a cell.

But Stepniak,

this dangerous state criminal, is alone in his cell.

This kind of sick individual,

if it is not essential

to place him under medical supervision or operate on him,

they are usually treated in their cell. Until disinfection,

especially in the case of contagious diseases,

it is best if only those whose job it is enter the cell.

I have already spoken with the chief medical officer

about transferring the prisoner to the visiting room

where the solicitors go, but...

he is opposed to it.

Such a transfer

would violate health regulations

and would be highly detrimental

to the patient.

What illness does Stepniak have?

The doctors are not yet sure,

but it's intestinal.

Perhaps typhoid.

Typhoid? But that's not so serious.

I don't intend to shake his hand or eat from his mess tin.

So you insist on seeing

the prisoner Stepniak?

Yes, I insist.

BS 5, to my office immediately.

You've just been appointed?

Yes, three months ago.

Do you know where your predecessor is?

Yes!

Take Comrade...

Kornev.

Kornev, Prosecutor Kornev

to the prisoner in cell 84.

Take the comrade prosecutor to the prisoner Stepniak,

cell 84.

We must strictly comply with the requirements

of the public prosecutor's inspection.

I am delighted that our new prosecutor

is a young man of such tenacity.

But I deplore your lack of caution.

There are diseases that soap and water cannot cure.

What do you mean?

This, precisely.

That we must never forget the danger of contagion.

I'll do my best.

Good.

He's with me.

He's with me.

Open 84 for us.

Order from the prison governor.

The prosecutor wants to see Stepniak.

His name?

Kornev.

First names?

Alexander Mikhailovich.

Open up.

Citizen Stepniak,

the prosecutor is here to speak with you.

Show me your business card, citizen...

prosecutor.

You don't trust a representative of the law?

It's you I don't trust.

The prisoner has the right to demand that of me.

Give the order to lower the bed

so we can sit down.

Lower it, please.

And now,

tell them to leave us alone.

I won't talk in front of a third party.

I am not a third party.

The rules require me to supervise the prisoner.

You can do so through the peephole.

I don't intend to throw myself at the prosecutor.

But I insist that our conversation remain confidential.

That is my right.

Leave us alone, please, it's his right.

Leave us alone.

I can hardly stand up.

I'm here in response to that request.

Is this yours?

Yes...

I must have broken the joint in my hand

on this piece of iron.

There's nothing sharp here.

Before you made yourself bleed, you must have asked for something to write with?

Yes...

but they refuse.

Allow me to ask you how this request got out of here.

If it's your secret, don't answer.

What secret?

I gave it to the supervisor,

as they say, to God's mercy, and she...

Good heavens!

She left these walls.

Are you really from the Crown?

I showed you my card.

The investigation department of the NKVD regional directorate

can fabricate anything!

Perhaps this document will dispel your mistrust.

So you studied law.

Did you graduate?

Yes. Three months ago.

And how did you end up in the public prosecutor's office?

I was assigned there.

That means that, at the Crown Prosecution Service, our famous institutions

have done a good job,

if, in positions like that,

they are rookies like you

they assign.

Ivan Stepanovich...

Last year, for the 100th anniversary, you gave a speech.

Yes...

Indeed, I came to the university.

And then?

You said that Soviet legality

was part of Bolshevik truth. And that we, as future lawyers,

had to fight for that truth.

I was all ears

and I understood that it was not just a nice phrase.

You understood correctly.

That was exactly it.

We fought tooth and nail for it,

for this truth of the workers and peasants,

with the White Russians.

Either we hid in bunkers

under their fire,

or the gallows

awaited us.

But today, the fight for Soviet legality

no longer entails any danger?

My boy, you don't seem stupid at all to me.

And, since you're not stupid and you came here,

it also means that you're honest

and not a coward.

Are you married, by any chance?

No.

Do you still have your father and mother?

No, they're dead.

Then listen carefully to what I'm going to tell you.

But first, look at

what the NKVD did to me.

Don't stare too hard.

It's better if the other one behind the door doesn't see this.

There you go, my boy.

Did you see what I spat out?

My urine is red too.

It was the same during the Revolution.

One day, some rich peasants beat me up badly.

Except I was young at the time, all curly-haired.

I got over it.

Whereas now,

if they add to it,

I won't get over it.

Besides, it wouldn't do any good.

What did you do to deserve this?

Not "what", but "why".

I'm the kind of person

difficult person.

I refuse for myself and for other innocent people

to sign death sentences.

Yet that is the only thing they want from me...

those sneaky NKVD fascists.

The building dedicated to investigation

and the inner prison have become one huge jail.

Thousands of innocent people

were subjected to unimaginable...

beatings,

the torture of deprivation of food, sleep,

just to get them to sign

false statements

against themselves

and against others.

Honest people plead guilty

of crimes that are beyond their comprehension,

and the cases go to the courts which act on orders from the same NKVD.

They are particularly cruel

with the old Party members.

In our region, they massacred

almost all the local officials.

I think I'm the last...

member of the Regional Committee

still

in this world.

And that's just because I'm

more stubborn than the old members

and I haven't signed anything.

They wanted me to sign that,

during the war with the Germans,

I was a secret agent for Petliura.

Except that shooting their victim

without first obtaining a confession to these fabricated crimes,

the local fascists cannot do it.

People have to slander themselves.

Obviously, it's important for the reports

to the governing bodies.

"See how our vigilance

"allows us to nip sedition in the bud in our own house!"

They fear revelations.

And try to make sure everything is done

as required by law.

Beating a stubborn defendant to death

costs them nothing, these NKVD executioners,

but for them it's an unfortunate blunder.

That's why people like me,

they put them under a bell

hoping that these people

with crushed insides

won't last long.

When I die, it will say

it will of course be due

to heart failure in this very prison.

They are the enemies of the people,

these NKVD saboteurs.

They do not damage machine tools,

nor do they set fire to factories.

But the old leaders devoted to the Party,

they are being replaced

with young, loud careerists.

And honest, conscientious specialists are being replaced

by narrow-minded ignoramuses.

I'm not asking you this for my sake.

I'm screwed anyway.

But the cause of our Revolution

torments me deeply.

If you are truly

a true Bolshevik

not a coward, and an honest Soviet lawyer,

leave immediately for Moscow

and get an audience with Stalin.

If you can't do that,

go and find any member of the Politburo:

Yezhov, Voroshilov,

Molotov...

And tell them that here,

we are exterminating the cream of the Party.

Hundreds of thousands of honest Soviets!

And don't dawdle.

You managed to get this meeting with me and...

they won't leave you alone.

You won't even have time to turn around

yourself

end up in jail too.

Open up.

He's out.

He'll be at your house soon.

Wait.

Yes.

This work has to be done beforehand, not after the fact.

We're turning them into little idiots.

After the battle,

in 1916, the battle of Kovel,

my dear sir,

I had an arm and a leg amputated.

At the time, there was nothing in place for the wounded.

The small allowance for invalids came much later.

So I thought to myself, I need a job,

except I only have my left hand.

I went to see my father.

He said to me: "I can't feed you."

Can you imagine?

I travelled around for a good year and decided

to go to Saint Petersburg, my good sir,

to ask Lenin if there was any way to benefit from proletarian charity,

since one could say that I shed my blood,

that I sacrificed my life.

And did he give you charity, Lenin?

Wait, don't go too fast.

The young man must have knowledge,

you have to proceed in order.

Anyway, in the end, convoys

in government carriages, I finally arrived

my good sir, in Saint Petersburg.

Can you imagine the spectacle?

A soldier covered in lice

who finds himself in the capital,

which is, if I may say so, unrivalled in the world.

Suddenly, in front of him, Nevsky Prospect, imagine,

Pea Street, for heaven's sake,

and Foundry Street, the Admiralty spire.

The bridges are open,

straight ahead, without touching each other.

A true tale of Scheherazade, my good sir.

Stop it, you one-armed man!

You may have seen it all,

but the youngster hasn't set foot in there yet.

He may not even have touched a girl.

Eh?

I'm looking for a place to live,

except it's outrageously expensive.

But I,

my entire fortune,

is just 10 measly 5-ruble notes.

I ended up going to the Hotel de Revel

at 1 rouble a day.

Cabbage soup and minced meat.

I tell myself I won't get far like this.

I ask where I should go.

They tell me: "Go to Smolny,

go see Lenin directly,

at the very heart of Soviet power.

That's where it is, true justice."

What idiot

- who led you to believe that? - Shut up, you stubborn mule.

Listen to this. Up at the crack of dawn,

I scraped my beard with my left hand,

- because paying a barber is still, in its own way, an expense -,

I put on my little uniform

and, with my little wooden leg,

off I went!

Can you picture it?

I'm going to see Lenin

at Smolny.

And there! Mirrors, vases, all-white ceilings,

columns, priceless marble,

and people running around everywhere.

They let me in with difficulty and tell me to fend for myself.

I struggle like hell.

Everyone has seen Lenin,

but no one knows where he is.

I end up turning up with my leg

in an antechamber, I stick myself in a corner

so as not to knock over America or India

in golden earthenware vases.

I must stay there a good four hours

and, finally, an aide-de-camp

or an official on duty

comes out and says:

"Lenin is coming to the antechamber!"

The antechamber is more crowded than ever.

They are all decorated and smoking strong tobacco. People are running around everywhere.

You can hear people shushing! And suddenly!

A deathly silence descends.

Lenin arrives.

So?

Can you imagine?

The statesman himself.

In person, if I may say so,

with the title to go with it

and that expression, you understand.

Everyone there is standing straight as an "i" waiting tremblingly

for a decision that, in its own way, will seal their fates.

He approaches one, then another.

"Why are you here?" "And you, what brings you here?"

And he approaches me.

I gather my strength: "Here it is, Your Excellency,

"Guide of the Revolution,

"I have shed my blood, I have lost an arm and a leg.

"I cannot work and beg for charity from the monarch."

Lenin's gaze pierces me,

he sees my wooden leg,

my right sleeve stapled to my uniform.

"Fine," he says,

come back in a few days.

"We are always delighted to welcome the working class,

"even without arms or legs."

- No kidding! - Yes, indeed!

That's what he said.

Yes...

"Come back again, my friend."

Then I thought to myself, "That's it,

It's sorted."

And then?

What happened next?

What happened next?

Nothing.

What do you mean, nothing?

You look like you've been around the block a few times.

you've even lost all your teeth,

but you don't understand a thing.

What about Lenin?

Gone, Lenin!

I go back there once, twice,

and it's always the same old story: "Tomorrow, tomorrow."

I got fed up.

I made a huge fuss, I shouted, I swore!

And then, emerging from the cloud of tobacco smoke,

a courier arrived.

A two-metre colossus

with enormous arms

like a cart driver's

or a dentist.

He grabs me, poor wretch,

throws me in a cart and straight to the police station.

I lived off the state for a little while and then they released me.

Lenin had died in the meantime.

Now I'm going to see Stalin.

Yes, it seems he's the embodiment of kindness.

Because it's not for me

that, in a sense, I shed my blood and sacrificed my life.

But you

who has knowledge, tell me:

do you think he'll compensate me?

Eh?

Are you queuing?

Young man, are you looking for someone?

Yes.

Who?

The Attorney General. I have business with him.

If that's the case, you must know where his office is.

Yes?

Pardon?

I'm looking for the exit. Where is it?

Down the stairs on the left.

Are you all right?

Yes.

I don't think that's right.

My dear friend!

You're here too! Congratulations!

I congratulate you!

I always believed in you and always thought you would go far!

You're a real ace! And you've grown so much!

In every sense of the word, obviously!

Do we know each other?

May I introduce you to Comrade Mrazovitch.

We went to school together, and he's risen through the ranks.

Mrazovich.

Kornev.

That's right, Kornev, an artist, a hell of an artist, even!

- Come and see me. - All right.

He's not just anyone. Go see him if you have a problem.

When were you transferred? Which department?

- I... - I can imagine, not mine.

What are you here for, if it's not a secret?

Sorry,

but have we met somewhere?

Kornev, stop being silly.

Come see me later.

Office 312. Come in without knocking.

All right.

Yes, I'm listening.

Hello, I'm here to see the Attorney General.

Do you have an appointment?

No.

Actually, Comrade Kornev,

the Attorney General only receives visitors by appointment

by the Public Prosecutor's Office. So there is nothing I can do

for you.

I have come a long way for a matter of state of the utmost importance.

Everyone here is here for the same reason.

Do you have a mission order?

No.

But...

it's really important.

If that's the case,

why did the prosecutor's office to which Comrade Kornev

did not request a hearing with the Prosecutor General?

And why does Comrade Kornev not have a mission order

stating that he must go to the Prosecutor General's Office?

I can't even put you on the list

of people with dubious requests

and which are judged solely by the Attorney General.

I am a member of the Party

and have come to inform the Attorney General of a matter of the utmost urgency

of extreme urgency.

Furthermore, I must see him alone, face to face.

It is impossible to put this in writing, as you suggest.

It is in your best interest to take this seriously.

- Thank you. - Goodbye.

Please.

- Come in. - Thank you.

Very well.

I'll speak to the Attorney General and let you know what he decides.

Please wait in the anteroom. 678

Thank you.

Thank you.

Goodbye.

Comrade Zavtrakine!

Please.

Come in, please.

Thank you, goodbye. Goodbye.

Comrade Smirnov!

You're in luck.

Comrade Prosecutor General, against all odds,

has agreed to see you.

But remember

that he is one of the busiest people in the State.

So you need to be very concise

and not waste any time for our friend the Attorney General.

Two or three minutes, no more.

I'm listening.

My name is Kornev. I am a prosecutor at the Bryansk Public Prosecutor's Office,

responsible for inspecting places of detention.

I have established

the commission of offences against socialist legality

on behalf of the Directorate of State Security

during the investigation of counter-revolutionary crimes

as well as violations of detention rules

of prisoners suspected of such crimes.

Continue.

I have been informed of numerous and cruel beatings

of a prisoner

during interrogations carried out by the NKVD Regional Directorate.

There is every reason to believe that such beatings

and other illegal methods during the investigation

conducted by this Directorate are systematic in nature.

I would cite as indirect evidence

the deprivation of prisoners in political prisons in the region

of the possibility of complaining to the ad hoc authorities.

This may be the only request that has reached

to the public prosecutor's office from the political section of the municipal prison.

The basis for this complaint

and what was used to write it speak for themselves.

BRIANSK REGIONAL PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE

And why inform me of these offences

and not the regional prosecutor?

Because I do not believe in the determination

of the regional prosecutor's office to interfere in the affairs of the local NKVD.

I also fear that this prosecutor's office

will not want to or even be able to defend a collaborator

who has attempted to interfere in this way, from reprisals.

Obtaining the approval of the public prosecutor's office to arrest an undesirable person

has become in our region a mere formality.

And so, going to my superior

was for me not only practically useless,

but would have been almost suicidal.

And I decided

to address you as

a civil servant, but above all as an honest member of the Party.

And, in your opinion, for what purpose

are the offences you suspect in your region being committed?

Comrade Vyshinsky,

I am sure that, at the regional NKVD,

there is a group of counter-revolutionaries

claiming to be Stalinist Chekists.

Abusing their position, they are exterminating the best

by accusing them of imaginary crimes.

In this way, they undermine

the local economy, administrative management

and discredit Soviet legality in the eyes of the people.

The governing bodies of the entire region

are destabilised and terrified by these criminals.

Especially the officials of the public prosecutor's office and the courts.

I do not rule out the possibility that some,

perhaps against their will, are carrying out their instructions.

However, anyone who could bring to light

the insidious malice of the actions of the regional security organs

are preventively arrested

and, for the most part, no doubt already eliminated.

The dedicated Party officials

are replaced by incompetent young people,

but loyal to the NKVD.

And if one of them discovers an inconsistency,

they prefer to act as if nothing had happened:

"Forget us and we'll forget you." A real system,

Comrade Vyshinsky.

Perhaps some opportunists were circumvented

by their rise

due neither to their competence nor to their experience.

I could have followed their example,

but I am prevented from doing so by my conscience as a Soviet citizen,

as a member of the Party and as a Soviet lawyer.

I cannot remain inactive in the face of crimes

committed on a massive scale and without interruption.

The intervention of the Attorney General's Office must put an end to them.

I believe that this is a destructive process

that must stop immediately.

So you want the Attorney General's Office to launch an investigation

right away,

into the counter-revolutionary activities of the security forces

in your region, is that correct?

Quite right, Comrade Vyshinsky.

It could be possible

if it were a private individual or some state authority.

But this Commissariat of Internal Affairs now has

special powers and enjoys quasi-autonomy.

Investigating one of its members,

even the USSR Prosecutor General's Office

can only do so with the agreement

of the leadership of these bodies or that of the NKVD.

If documents prove

offences in any of the departments of this Commissariat,

its management shall not refuse

to initiate criminal proceedings against those who committed them.

Comrade... Kornev?

says he saw signs of torture on the body of a detainee?

Can you have these observations confirmed

by a certified medical examination?

Comrade Vyshinsky, it was the prisoner

who wrote to the regional prosecutor's office with his own blood.

He is an old Bolshevik

and a former senior Party official.

I would like to explain to Comrade Attorney General

that I was unable to access his cell

after overcoming the director's reluctance

who was reluctant to allow this meeting.

And this warden would surely have found

excuses to postpone this medical examination,

giving him time to lock me up too.

I have no doubt that this director and his deputies

are in cahoots with the regional NKVD leadership.

And I have chosen to rely only on the confidence

given to my statement by the Attorney General.

And I sincerely did not know

that a secret investigation

concerning an NKVD executive

required written documents.

Yes,

for a lawyer, you are acting rashly.

But the situation can be resolved.

Go home

and send the medical examination

of the detainee who, according to you,

to illegal interrogation methods. 818

I promise you that the investigation

will begin immediately.

But...

if I come back empty-handed,

as I will have broken the rules of hierarchy,

I will be immediately dismissed and arrested.

The counter-revolutionaries of the regional NKVD will not want

let a man aware of their crimes go free.

Give Comrade Kornev a document certifying that I have received it.

On behalf of the public prosecutor's office of the region to which he belongs.

This will be sufficient for you to proceed with actions

relating to this case without risk to your safety.

And provide a train ticket

to Comrade Kornev from the Attorney General's reserve.

Everything that has been said here, make a brief report,

but detailed.

It will be attached to the document we discussed.

Put that in too.

Such a document

could be of great assistance.

So?

Later.

Get in.

To the station!

It's there.

Good evening. Good evening.

Is this your seat?

Number 5.

Sorry. I...

- You can leave that. - No, no...

I'll sit here.

We're off.

Are you from Moscow?

Me? No.

Where are you from, then? From Bryansk.

Are you a student?

I used to be. Now I work.

What kind of work?

I'm a solicitor,

member of the Bar Association.

Prosecutor assigned to the investigation.

What does that involve?

When citizens complain,

I make sure that everything is done according to the law.

A very fine job, comrade.

Necessary.

And Moscow?

Was it for a girl?

No, no.

What for, if it's not a secret?

For work. At the prosecutor's office.

In Moscow? Isn't there a prosecutor's office in Bryansk?

For a hearing with the Attorney General.

Vyshinsky?

Yes.

Petya, so young and already at the Attorney General's office!

We haven't met yet.

- Petia. - Alexander. Pleased to meet you.

- And Vassia. - Vassili.

Alexander. Pleased to meet you.

Wait... I'll be right back.

Boss, bring us a drink.

No, mate, I don't drink.

You don't drink?

Soviet legality, what a sin not to honour it!

Come on!

Thank you.

Do you have a guitar?

No, but I have sugar.

What a joker!

Come on!

So that order reigns!

Order!

Here, eat this.

Thank you.

And you, what do you do?

We're liquidators.

We're engineers.

In Moscow. A design office.

That's right. We design factories.

We design the future, in a word.

Architects.

Yes. We can do anything.

We're rebuilding a factory in Bryansk.

- It's difficult... Big factory. - Mechanical constructions?

- "The Trade Union Factory". - Foreign technology.

Hence the hiccups, the misunderstandings.

A month ago, a new chain

should have come into service,

but there was a problem.

So let's see what happened:

simple error or sabotage?

You know that better than we do.

Sometimes we don't know if it's a technical error or sabotage.

An engineer seems ordinary:

family, children, work.

Nothing wrong with that, except that he's actually a saboteur.

I wouldn't believe it if they didn't confess.

- It's getting worse and worse. - Yes.

That's the way it is these days.

You're dealing with enemies.

How can you tell if someone is one or not?

There are procedures.

An investigation is launched when the crime is established.

If it is established. And if...

it has not yet been committed, but the enemy is known, what should be done?

According to Roman law, there is a presumption of innocence.

And what if, afterwards, there is sabotage?

It is impossible to judge someone without an established crime.

So what? Do we wait for them to commit it?

I understand your question.

Comrade Prosecutor...

Alexandre.

We must be vigilant

and firmly wield the punitive sword of Soviet legality.

We do not punish...

We investigate, we accuse and, if necessary, the court punishes.

- To get to the bottom of things. - That's right.

Stay alert!

Eat.

Thank you.

Who asked for a guitar?

Boss! Thank you! Well, there you go!

Except we need...

Oh, yes. Thank you.

Sing our song.

The morning catches us in the frost

And the river in the wind carries us away

Pretty curly-haired girl, doesn't it delight you

This cheerful song of the siren?

Come on, get up, pretty curly-haired girl!

Buzzing in the workshops

The country rises with glory

And praises this new day of hope

The team will welcome us by working

And you will greet your friends with a smile

With whom you share the labour, the worries

The counterpoint and even life

Beyond the gate of Narva

It thunders and glows red

The country rises in glory

And praises this new day of hope

this new day of hope

And with it to glorious victory

You will pass, mischievous youth,

Before the next generation arrives

Other young people driven by this dream

Who will emerge into this prosperous life

And will replace their fathers

The country rises with glory

And praises this new day of hope

With such beautiful words

Proclaim your truth to the world around you

We are moving forward in life

Work, love that smiles

Is it a sin to love, pretty curly-haired girl?

When, at the first ring,

The country rises with glory

And praises this new day of hope

The country rises with glory

And praises this new day of hope

Wake up, comrade, we'll be there in half an hour.

Comrade Ivanov?

- That's me. - Comrade Petrov?

- Are you from management? - Absolutely.

Is he with you?

Comrade Kornev.

Hello.

Do you have a car?

Comrades, could you give me a lift?

Shall we give him a lift, Vassia?

Let's go.

Thanks.

Are there any girls in this town?

Yes, of course.

Pretty ones?

Pretty ones too.

Easy to catch?

Easy to catch what?

Don't you get it? Haven't you ever caught one?

I'm single.

Ah, that's why.

- And you've never tried, is that it? - What's the question?

Don't be shy. It's just us here.

He definitely won't say anything.

Come on, spill it!

Have you done it or are you still a virgin?

We shouldn't have turned there.

I won't let you go if you don't tell me.

Come on, spill it! Yes or no?

We're all ears, aren't we, Vassia!

Where are we going?

We're taking you away.

To clear things up.

If necessary.

Open the door!

Calm down, Kornev.

You're under arrest.

Adaptation: Joël Chapron