First season The name “Northern Mafia” has two components: “North” and, in fact, “Mafia”. The creators of the series of the same name turned out to work quite well with the first, but not at all with the second. Even if we assume that “mafia” in this case does not mean “criminal”, but “family”, or at least “friendship”, then the conclusion is the same – did not work. The beautifully shot northern series has almost no other, different from visual, advantages, and suffers from the main problem of a fairly large number of films: it is absolutely impossible to understand why it was shot.
By the will of the writers, most of the characters of the Northern Mafia are each other’s children-brothers or at least lovers, in other words, some family, which is the main distinguishing feature of this series. However, relations between a crowd of related people are not close: at best, they are friendly, and not even friendly, and at worst – competitive. Even those quarrels that flare up between the characters cannot be characteristic of family drama, the elements of which, it would seem, can not be avoided with such introductory ones, disputes are associated exclusively with money, but not personal relationships. Of course, this leads to the banal, but no conclusion that money spoils the relationship, however, something does not allow it to be fully done. The “Northern Mafia” does not involve sufficiently detailed excursions into the past to look at the heroes when the relationship between them was different and real, therefore, this was not the case, that is, money was nothing to spoil. This regrettable fact puts an end to the only idea that the Mafia, it seems, could be endowed with, and nothing more significant to its viewer it can not offer.
Of course, idealessness is the main problem of the series in question, but alas, not the only one. The plot here is generally one continuous problem. Although it begins with a certain event-trigger in the form of the announced death of the mother of the family, from the dead (sorry for the pun) point it moves with great difficulty, and many of the side storylines that ran in different directions do not add up into a single whole. The unity of the picture is also not facilitated by the complete absence of a central story to which the rest could be subordinated, so it is quite difficult to understand for all eight episodes what, in fact, the heroes fight and fight for, except for their personal and rather insignificant interests. Apparently, feeling the weakness of their narrative, somewhere in the middle of the series, its authors tried to add some semblance of a detective, who, however, is not able to capture attention due to his extreme slowness and weak interest in its potential result. More or less curious can be called only the last couple of episodes, where, finally, there was a place for intrigue, and it is a pity that cunning was added to the series so late. As for the final denouement, it is some unthinkable sadness, given the incredible insignificance of the character, who became the root of all troubles. To remember who it is at all is not a trivial task, I will tell you.
The only significant advantage of the Northern Mafia is its visual component and ability to work with cold and snow. Separated from the big earth, the scene of the series creates a feeling of a separate world, living according to its own laws. Endless white snow, which is not cleaned to the asphalt, the lighting of local low-rise construction, the amazing romance of trips to the neighboring country as if to the nearest store - quite charming elements of the Mafia. We are aware of the cold of the North here, but for some reason it does not repel and creates comfort in its own way. In addition, the Finns know how to coexist with him and know what it is: the heroes are dressed for the weather, no one pretends that the street is warm and comfortable. So the picture in the Mafia is an absolute plus. But with the irony that should be inherent in the series, it turned out much worse: there are funny moments and rather ridiculous characters, but mostly everything is serious and strict, so there is a bit of humor. I will also add that the Russian translation is somehow unprofessional: all the inscriptions are not translated, but they are in Finnish for a moment, and they are important for the plot. Watching the series in an embrace with a translator is still entertainment.
It seems that bewilderment is the main feeling that gives rise to the last film and serial work I saw, and meaninglessness is their main feature. Strangely enough, the Northern Mafia was no exception: the idea of the showdown after the death of the matriarch looked promising, but in fact it turned out to be a dummy. Leading to nowhere storylines, which immediately do not understand – this is forgivable melodrama in two hundred episodes, but not a laconic series in eight. Authors of this kind cannot afford to search for themselves and spread their thoughts across the tree. But, alas. Completely unnecessary spectacle, which even with the entertainment function copes with the “three”.