While this is a biographical sports film, I cannot help but interpret its messages in the broader historical and political context of Russia. Some of the plots and cinematography are a little bit cliché, but the film remains charismatic for introducing audiences domestic and abroad to an exciting sport. Still, my greatest joy watching it derives from treating the film as either an explicit propaganda or an implicit political allegory. On the surface, the film accuses perpetrating bureaucracy under Brezhnev's reign. The film is at least partially honest in revealing the complexity of politics of the ice hockey leagues in the Soviet Union. That said, more merits of the film lie in its depiction of Tarasov, the ice hockey coach. The parallel between Tarasov and Stalin is clear even before a character in this film calls the behaviors of Tarasov "Stalinist." It immediately becomes evident that Tarasov is the true protagonist of the film, while the ice hockey league, subjected to Tarasov, embodies the Soviet Union under the leadership of Stalin. In this film, Tarasov is both respected and feared, but no one dares to overthrow him; instead, the ice hockey league eventually treats Tarasov as a fatherly figure, to whom they attribute their victory. This film also tells a lot about the foreign policy and mentality of Soviet Union. Team Canada seems invincible but is later made known as "not different than others." The childhood bullfight scene, seemingly disconnected and redundant at first, is recycled later to reflect the classic Soviet mind, that Russia was once weak but had huge potential, and that it had to find its own way to navigate through the persecution of hegemonic western countries.
