This movie is a true masterpiece. First the acting: while there are many well-known actors, Vasilieva takes the prize for her superb portrayal of an obsessed mother, willing to go to any length to protect her naive son and his career. The movie itself is an example of a dark and, at times, grotesque social drama, that does not shy away from raising difficult and taboo subjects of the soviet era, especially the problem of systemic anti-Semitism. The dirt and angst of life in the Soviet 60s communal apartment is superbly shown, the pervasive paranoia of the times is palpable. Yet, the centerpiece of the drama is a very realistic and modern love of an obsessive mother for her only son. A disturbed woman, she fights with real and perceived enemies, slowly disintegrating as the only people she cares for leave her behind. And while some scenes may seem too melodramatic, the social commentary is very subtle. The overall picture this movie painted made the Soviet viewer gasp at the cynical and rotten society they had lived in for 70 years, and this effect is as strong for the contemporary viewer. Alas, today's Russia is weighed down by the same past that informs the lives of this movie's characters.
