Reviews

This is one of the greatest comedies produced by the Soviet cinema. It continues to be hugely popular among Russian speaking people (who have all seen it). Even if one does not understand any Russian, the movie is quite watchable in subtitled versions.

The plot itself is a rather standard one about ordinary guys thrust into a strange culture with action and adventure. What makes the movie special is superb acting, witty dialog, good pacing, and engaging music.

This movie deserves a place along side other action-adventure comedies such as The Princess Bride.

The plot is an old standby. A girl (Mell Shipman) is kidnapped by bandits and threatened with a Fate Worse Than Death. This standard plot serves as a framework for an astonishing extended off-road driving sequence. An ordinary 2-wheel-drive sedan is driven through progressively worse terrain including crawling over bolder strewn plains, along narrow ledges, and down crumbling sandhills. Basically, if you have seen it in a four-wheel-drive magazine, it is in this movie. No screaming heroin, Mell Shipman does about a third of the driving.