I revisited the series many years later. Feeling tired - after all, eleven seasons in a week - is a test.
There are several impressions - good and not so. First of all, the series, despite its longevity, still impresses with a decent (with some exceptions) script and a strong cast (which in the end was very tired of the story, but continued to hold). It is difficult to say about directing, because for the period from 2004 to 2018, many people lived in this post. And this is evident in the level of seasons, different styles, musical design and especially in the installation. However, despite a kind of "wave" series still kept at the level of a single narrative and above average quality.
There are claims to credibility. I think of myself as someone whose glass is half full. And from this point of view, the methodical nightmare of power somewhere in the middle of this long-playing narrative begins to irritate, and the professional habit of analyzing any, including cinematic information, makes claims to reliability. It seemed that the directors who worked on the project were, to put it mildly, inclined to liberalism and fronting.
I always argue that such long-running projects can only succeed (and Mentov’s Wars, if you don’t pick on it, are the success of the genre) if the caste is properly assembled, especially its main characters. And in this sense, the choice of Alexander Ustyugov for the main role was largely decisive. It is interesting to follow the transformation of Shilov from a young and beautiful dandy from detective to tired, lost his gloss and completely disappointed in the system of the detective, who interferes with everyone, but without which it is impossible. This interpretation of the image, especially in the last three seasons, carries in itself the directorial, I think, concept of the hopelessness of Russian life, it seems, greatly exaggerated. The blackness of this part of the series is very striking and, again, annoying.
Other characters from the close environment of the main character not only "play the king" (although not without this - especially in the first seasons), but also acquire a certain independence, depending on the actor's penetration into the image. Vsevolod Tsurilo, Dmitry Bykovsky, Andrei Kuznetsov, Maria Ivanova provided a team game, drawing their own lines. It is a pity that because of a tragic accident the life of Alexei Zavyalov was cut short. He was an important and, most importantly, memorable part of this team game and his absence left the imprint of a certain fatality on the series.
Some of the actors didn’t make it to the final and were eliminated for various reasons. And by the end of the series and Ustyugov did not even hide how he was tired of the skin of the cop. And the final in this sense was quite justified, so that, therefore, no one else was tempted to extend the series for another season. It is so – it is difficult to stop, but necessary. Although in this case, the last seasons do not lose the beginning, and in some ways even surpass it.
The so-called negative heroes performed by Maria Fefilova, Robert Studenovskiy, Dmitry Mukhamadeev, Andrei Rodimov and others are also very colorful. It is clear that only such an exceptional detective as Shilov can “fight” with such serious “enemies” – this works flawlessly for the image. Closer to the final, a whole cohort of young people appeared, of which Andrei Marusin and Grigory Orlov were especially remembered - bright, colorful personalities, beautiful, talented actors.
In general, the Mentov wars are still in the ranks - they look with interest, if you make a discount in advance on the "malignancy" and remember that we are just a series.
8 out of 10
This series has only one drawback: the title. It seems completely banal, rude and ordinary reading for lovers of blackness and crime.
But this is only at first glance.
I started watching this series with my husband on the recommendation of friends. Well, this is one of the best Russian crime series, next to which everything else seems like childish babble.
This is the '00s. Main Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in St. Petersburg.
The main character Roma Shilov, senior opera. He's young, handsome, charming and daring. He allows himself expensive clothes, birch bark, a foreign car. He hates money and annoys all his colleagues.
There's Jackson, an Afghan veteran with a concussion. An alcoholic and a balagur who brings raisins to history.
Screaming, confused in women.
Nikolai Arnautov is a veteran of the fight against organized crime, impenetrable as a concrete pillar.
All characters are alive, with their weaknesses and virtues. Dialogues fire like a machine gun. Not a word too much. Just bravo.
The plot is constantly in dynamics, with unexpected twists and storylines. Every season - every new case and new twists and turns in the lives of police officers. It would seem, well, much further, and no, the screenwriters throw us in a new confusing case, where again tied the servants of law and order.
But the main thing after watching is the question, is there a hero among us who is able to resist corrupt businessmen in uniforms, officials and all the rest? The series so accurately shows police routines and some characters that it becomes scary and amazing at the same time.
I recommend this series to everyone to understand how our police work, and ask myself the question, are there such heroes among us?
10 out of 10
The series is very, very good. In my memory, this is the first Russian TV series about law enforcement officers, which broke the long-term and bad trend, laid down ' Streets of Broken Lanterns': demonstration of the police in a purely positive, unambiguously heroic way; the readiness of any policeman to exploits in the name of good and justice at any time of the day and even in bad weather.
No, of course Shilov is a hero. And his closest colleagues, mostly, too. But no, no, but they will flash some rotten, because in almost every new part (not to be confused with ' season', at ' War' slightly specific structure of the narrative), one of the old friends turns out to be, at least, not such a good guy, or even an outright traitor. And among the bosses, colleagues from other departments and departments, the number of werewolves in epaulettes & #39, outright criminals in uniform just goes off the scales (here, probably, the authors slightly overstepped the stick, but write off for the debut). And corruption, nepotism, concealment blossom with terry color.
Of course, there are plot cliches. First, it is 'Team' with a capital letter. In all TV series on police-police themes it is present. The team is always at work, the team is always together, the team is witty jokes, the team is sure to avenge one of its members, etc. And no matter that someone falls out of it periodically because of their low moral level - the team will always be.
The second stamp is not that it would be very common in the genre of Russian police detective, but it occurs. This is the notorious 'noir hero'. In 'The Mentov Wars' it certainly is Shilov. A huge number of life collisions of one character (appointment, demotion, transfer, dismissal, return, appointment, transfer, demotion - and so on to infinity; killed a loved one, abandoned a loved one, betrayed a friend, etc.) unfolds against the background of his eternal internal conflicts, played with a slightly exaggerated share of pathos. This does not bother the viewer much, even at first adds dynamics to the plot, but at some point you just wonder: ' Can you live quietly or not?' The image of the character is too much ' overheat ' drama.
Meanwhile, the above moments, although they do not add to the series ' pluses', but the overall positive picture does not spoil much. The very believable atmosphere of that period, professionally drawn in the series, is quite difficult to spoil. And the characters really develop along with the events of the plot, and organically, smoothly and with logic, without sharp transitions, which is generally rare in the world of Russian detective television series.
Four years after the debut ' Mentov’s Wars' on TV screens pompously came ' Deaf' about the same idea: they say, not everything in the Ministry of Internal Affairs is so good, there are ' lousy sheep' and even good guys with epaulets sometimes have to do not very good things. ' Deaf' was pretentiously titled ' the first TV series you believe' But no, not the first. The first was 'The Mentov Wars'.
Speaking about this series, I want to note that it first of all attracted me by the way negative characters are shown here and, first of all, the character of the criminal authority Mozart, performed by wonderful actors Oleg Ogiy, and his already popular phrase & #39; It is time before God to earn points & #39; can not leave indifferent, and on the same time makes you think. Plunging into further viewing, of course, the main characters came to the fore, that is, the positive heroes - the opera of the murderous department of the police Department of St. Petersburg: Roman Shilov, Stanislav Scriabin, Sergei Solovyov, Leonid Vasilevsky, Nikolai Arnautov and of course, who became the most popular character Yevgeny Ivanov or just Jackson.
In this series, the work of law enforcement agencies from the inside is most truthfully shown, dialogues are correctly prescribed, and the plot itself makes you empathize with the main characters. And all this is not surprising, because the script for this film was written by such masters as Maxim Alexandrovich Yesaulov and Andrei Alexandrovich Romanov, the first of whom devoted his entire life to the fight against crime. Also, the film shows the life of police officers and well reflects the atmosphere and situation in our country in the zero years.
The plot of the story ' Senior werewolf on especially important matters' makes you worry and worry together with the main characters, where until the very end it is not clear who is who, the most dramatic moment here is the beginning of the fifth series, I myself was a little crying, and the ending makes you shudder.
I was also pleased with the chic musical accompaniment performed by Maxim Koshevarov and Pavel Malkov, who also directed this project, which amazingly complements what is happening on the screen.
In general, it turned out the most high-quality product on this topic in recent years, which absolutely rightly has great audience love.
10 out of 10
“Mentov’s Wars” is a series based on the scripts of Maxim Esaulov. It is curious that Maxim Alexandrovich himself worked in the bodies, so he wrote about the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs firsthand. The series turned out to be very dynamic and exciting. Anyway, everything in order. . .
The series tells about the fate of Roman Shilov - an operative from the "killing department". Shilov can undoubtedly be called the ideal of the police, now the police. Roma Shilov, as befits a real hero, honest and fair. His life is turned upside down when Hera-Mozart decides to hand over two mercenaries to Shilov. After that, the hunt for Roman begins. And the worst thing is that he is being framed by his own (although they have not long been considered his own). To understand who is behind all this, Roma must go all the way. Shilov unravels this tangle, but there is an unpleasant residue from the fact that their system is so rotten. The worst thing is that he loses a friend Solovyov, and then repeatedly faces the betrayal of his colleagues.
Although Roma has plenty of enemies, there are also proven friends - Scriabin, Jackson and others. Shilov is respected and colleagues, and so to speak, those with whom he is on opposite sides of the barricades - for example, Aidar, Mozart and the Apostle. Shilov understands that traces of corruption lead to the highest level of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but he is a real opera, so he goes to the end, no matter what. This war will probably never end, and Shilov understands this very well. As they say, in war, as in war. Of course, Shilov could use illegal methods in his work, but he did all this not for personal gain, but for the sake of justice. As the song says: “God promised to forgive us all in full when the war is over.”
Shilov also has a so-called competitor - Arnautov from the department for combating organized crime. Shilov and Arnautov - they are so different, at first they even feuded, but then everything became even and they always helped each other. These two personalities have repeatedly proved that there is nothing stronger than friendship, justice and duty. And the moment when Arnautov went to save his son Pasha is beyond praise. Words can't even convey.
“Mentovskie wars” although it shows about corruption in the interior Ministry, but after this series there is hope that there are people like Shilov, Scriabin, Jackson, Egorov, Vasilevsky, Arnautov Sr. and Arnautov Jr., thanks to whom there is still relative calm in our “Danish Kingdom”.
10 out of 10