In 2013, at a time when relations between Russia and America were relatively prosperous, former CIA agent Joe Weisberg released a TV series on the activities of Russian intelligence officers in the United States. The series was so believable, interesting and unusual that it was renewed for another five seasons until the logical conclusion of the plot in 2018. There were 75 episodes in total. I think we can safely say that the Americans is the best spy TV project, which in its level surpassed even the famous Homeland (where the Russians, by the way, are villains). First of all, plausibility, and not just loyal, but extremely benevolent attitude of the authors of the series to the main characters - Russian KGB officers, many years ago introduced into the United States under the names of Elizabeth and Philip Jenkinx.
The prototypes of the main characters were probably Russian intelligence officers, whose group was discovered and deported in 2010, among them were couples with children similar to Jenkins: Richard and Cynthia Murphy (Vladimir and Lydia Guryeva) with two daughters, they even look like the characters of the series, but it is possible that Weisberg was inspired by the married couple Tracy Lee Ann Foley - Donald Howard Hatfield (Elena Vavilov and Andrei Bezrukov) with two sons.
However, the series dates back to an earlier period - the Cold War years of the 40th American president, Ronald Reagan, who spoke on behalf of the Republicans. This is 1981-87, during which several heads of state changed. These years cover the end of the reign of Brezhnev, then Andropov, and then Chernenko, and conclude with the Reykjavik Summit under Gorbachev. The atmosphere and style of the time are beautiful. Fashions, cars, hairstyles, appliances, music. The viewer plunges headlong into the alarming 80s.
The Jenkins family is an ideal American family living in the District of Columbia, a suburb of Washington. Philip and Elizabeth work in a travel agency, do housework, and in the evenings are engaged in the upbringing of teenage children: daughters Page and son Henry. They are friends with their neighbor Stan Beeman, often at each other's dinner, come to visit for a beer and chat, play tennis, and the children of both families do not get out of the neighbors. When an unexpected task falls on Philip and Elizabeth, the unsuspecting good guy Stan looks after Paige and Henry. Idyllic life is the embodiment of the American dream. However, problems and disagreements in their “marriage” occur often, which makes the viewer empathize with the heroes not only in their espionage activities.
The behind-the-scenes lives of Philip and Elizabeth are far from so serene. Intelligence agents communicate through the curator with the Center, collect compromising materials, blackmail, breed poor unafraid American citizens like fools, recruit agents, install and conduct wiretaps, obtain information of interest to the Center by any means, including bed. They're getting biomaterials for the weapons that the Reagan administration continues to build despite the bioweapons elimination agreements. Their task is to preempt Americans when they make a breakthrough in science to maintain the balance of power in the Cold War. With the threat of disclosure or on orders from Moscow, they are engaged in the physical elimination of certain people, and to their honor, try to avoid this as much as possible, as well as any meanness that they have to unwittingly commit, moreover, Philip this part of the work is so unpleasant that he gradually cools to it, by the sixth season in general almost out of the game, in contrast to the reliable and “correct”. Elizabeth. At a certain time, however, she too will have to make her own choice, a choice of reason and conscience, for the Gorbachev era will bring to the work of spies the confusion, confusion and chaos that accompany the events of the time that divided people in the Soviet Union. Both heroes must rethink their beliefs.
Despite the fact that the actions performed by scouts are often very ugly for ordinary life, or even worse, scriptwriters make the viewer sympathize with them, empathize with them, wish them luck, which is probably very good for real life, where the American viewer is used to identifying Russians with evil. In general, it is difficult to imagine that our filmed such a mirror story, where the Russian audience would have to sympathize with American spies in Moscow, who “treat” or even kill innocent Russian citizens. But this is probably the case with Americans, because the main idea of the series is not to further divide the two countries psychologically, but to overcome misunderstandings and disagreements. And from their own, American foreign, however, and domestic policy, the scriptwriters are not delighted, in the process very much criticize it.
Not only the protagonists of the series cause sympathy, but in general most of the characters. For some, even episodic, no matter which side they are on, you are sick with your whole soul. The most unpleasant type is a Russian emigrant who constantly scolds everything related to his homeland. But even under his armor of cynicism hides nostalgia and a difficult past that broke his soul, which brought him to America.
The most complex, richest images are the Jenkins themselves: Philip, Elizabeth and Page. The screenwriters managed to catch the Russian soul, which is always restless, but whole, falling and rising, rejecting betrayal, ready for self-sacrifice for the sake of an idea and at the same time capable of rebellion, confrontation, when conscience comes into conflict with the machine of the Center, rich in feelings and thoughts. They are smart, strong, beautiful, empathic, audacious, unpredictable, always faithful in the main and absolutely honest with each other. Next to them, even the coolest American - Stan Beeman - is like an ordinary burdock in front of a lawnmower. What can we say about ordinary citizens, whom the series shows with mild kind humor - but like cold-sick children next to two mature adults.
The adrenaline series is full of drive, causes a lot of emotions, from the unpredictability and unexpected turns of the plot is sometimes breathtaking. And there is absolutely no favorite American pathos. He's just gone. The film is about Russians and sometimes you forget that the Americans made it. Of course, in the course of the action, you sometimes notice mistakes, but not often and more and more in detail, as, for example, when Burov, the son of the minister, says that he was not a pioneer. We just couldn't have that. The only thing that sometimes interferes with viewing is the accents in the speech of the heroes of the residency among themselves, however, by the 6th season you either get used to it, or the actors worked a lot with the language - but the accent is felt much less.
It is worth noting the brilliant work of makeup artists who helped the two main characters create many unique personalities that they play during their espionage work. Sometimes they even manage to deceive the viewer so much that you do not immediately realize that Philip or Elizabeth is in his new persona. The actors adequately withstood this difficult task - the constant change of characters' personalities and played with hurrah.
8.5 out of 10
Very cool show. One of the best. Mega is a cool quality. Everything's up. Technically, there is nothing to complain about. A dynamic, brutal, dramatic spy thriller. About a family of Soviet spies undermining the foundations of the democratic system of the United States in the 80s. Fights, sex, nerves, sharp turns.
The most intriguing thing during the first seasons is that the characters are generally positive characters. Even flashing, some political anti-American retro criticism. And this causes astonishment and distrust. How so, the Americans in their cinematography represent the image of an idealistic opponent. Distrust, of course, is not groundless and unfortunately justifies the expectation. By the end, greasy blots begin to be placed, increasingly making Russian spies psychopaths and villains, and presenting their opponents and sympathizers not without flaws, but reasonable and logical in their rightness. The struggle against the Communists is justified by all means. Amen.
At the same time, the series in terms of quality remains on top, but the double morality brings its cognitive dissonance.
But I still recommend the movie. It is so good in all its positive manifestations.
It took AMC six years to tell the story of Philip and Elizabeth Jennings, two KGB agents in an ideological foe. Six years is not a very impressive life cycle for the show, but during this period a lot has changed: the situation in the world has changed, approaching the state in which she was in the series itself, the closed caste, which includes the main characters of the series, has again been updated. In tact with these changes, the accents placed by the authors inevitably shifted, so that the main characters of the series are no longer those who “entered” it.
To say that the series captures from the first frames and keeps in suspense until its finale would be some cunning: in an effort to attract our attention, the authors without swinging put the viewer directly in the center of the “fieldwork” of agents, and in practice this move comes out somewhat confused. It is worth admitting that the first season of the show was clearly not the best: in its course, the impression was created that the seduction of potential “contacts” by the wife-agent is the only technique in the arsenal of spies, and the writers have not only scant, but limited imagination in designing the situations in which they put the characters. But in the second season, the flaws and shortcomings that took place in the debut were honestly corrected. Characters unexpected for American television appeared or revealed, for example, the son of a minister sent from the USSR to the United States, who, it would seem, is destined to become either a “scumbag who embodied all the vices of the Soviet system” in the series, or a sold defector (he suddenly does not turn out to be such), or a naive beautiful girl entangled in spy tricks, men and life, for whom cooperation with the American authorities did not become a ticket to a happy life. Tensions of the series increased due to the introduction of a “through” antagonist – a Navy SEAL, albeit a non-traditional orientation, and the general “piquantity” was provided by the opportunity for Soviet heroes to discuss the war in Afghanistan from the Soviet point of view, US interference in the internal affairs of neighbors on the continent with the use of military force and the difficult life in American neighborhoods for the poor. These advantages greatly outweighed some factual errors, for example, the need for Soviet spies to steal steal stealth technology or drawings of silent propellers for submarines - the first was initially studied in the USSR by Peter Ufimtsev, and the second developed in the Soviet Union at a higher level than in the States.
But in parallel with the development of the series, the real world passed the turning year 2014, and the show, in which the viewer had a chance to sympathize with Russian spies, was forced to begin to transform. At first, these changes did not affect the central characters, but crept up from the periphery: part of the events of the series moved to the USSR, and here it was not without the favorite Western writers “cranberries”: winter, night, camps, the shooting of one of the female characters (in fact, from 1953 to the collapse of the Soviet Union, only 3 women were executed, and they were all worthy of this without a doubt). Even in this difficult time, the series was allotted time for honest or at least professional Soviet citizens, including even a minister (!), but the general change in the vector has already become noticeable. When the children of Philip and Elizabeth entered the time of the formation of the characters, the dynamics of the show also fell somewhat. Self-identification of children of spies is a very interesting subject for research, but if it is to take up, then it should be done as deeply as possible. In the “Americans”, the periodic “teenage riots”, causing the proximity of parents to failure, looked only a background “santabarbar”, good, they were withdrawn from the series quite quickly.
In the final season, the main characters also underwent a transformation: one of them comprehended all the gracelessness of the struggle, and the other, in order to stop causing increased sympathy, began to act extremely rudely and without special scripting need turned into almost a mass murderer (at the same time, the intrafamily alignment of roles here is quite original). The synopsis of the final adventure is somewhat “bulwark” and adjusted to the ideology of “Cold War 2.0”, but the authors of the series still retained the brand and allowed Philip and Elizabeth to get what they deserved, in the last shots this is the most “deserved” not vulgar, although, if desired, they could.
The technical embodiment of the “Soviet” characters is to be commended. All of them are played by Russian-speaking actors, and it is hardly possible to expect a better performance. The main character is performed almost impeccably, the hero is acceptable, but the fact is that the female role here is obviously stronger than the male one.
A separate plus can now be considered that the story has its logical conclusion: in an era when the duration of television shows almost entirely depends on the popularity and number of views, the planned end of the series can be considered an advantage.
As a result, the series "Americans" is a rather tense show with a well-founded claim to seriousness, good technical performance in terms of actors, satisfactory - in locations, not without stamps, but also with some respect for the Soviet people. To expect something more from an American series dedicated to the work of Soviet illegals in the United States would be utopian.
8 out of 10
Five years of annual broadcasting and nine years of history. The development of an original idea, with each new season leading the series beyond the usual framework of the genre. A serious step forward in terms of the reliability of the image of domestic life and entourage, progressively developing more and more with each new series. All this can be said about the completed series ' Americans' which after such a strong finale definitely left all its competitors behind.
But let's start in order. The series began as an almost standard spy thriller, but with one caveat - the main characters of the story were made by persons who, in theory, were supposed to be antagonists, namely a family pair of Soviet intelligence officers-illegals with all the consequent cliches of the red threat hanging over democratic America. A special spicy and humorous situation was added by the proximity of Soviet spies with an employee of the American counterintelligence, which eventually evolved into an incredible drama storyline near the end. Well, the series evolved all the time. It ceased to be like an action-packed ' Homeland' (a kind of colleague of this project) in the second or third seasons, finally turning into a piercing drama. A drama about true patriots who laid their lives on the altar of serving the Motherland. The drama is about a counterintelligence agent, latently signed in his own professional inability, twisting a friendship with a family of spies. A drama about people forgetting their native language and not being able to attend their parents’ funeral. A drama about children who do not know the truth about their origins and their parents. All this, combined with strong acting, makes Americans & #39 a very valuable product. And here you can even talk about those storylines that, it would seem, have long gone into the past, because unlike the same ' Homeland', ' Americans' are a whole, unified work, and their finale cannot be discussed in isolation from the last five seasons of this, I will not be afraid of this word, spy saga. So dramatic was the story of the heroine Annette Mahendru, whose Nina suffered for the allotted screen time more than everyone else, constantly being a toy or bargaining chip in the hands of two enemy major special services. How strict was the story of a fooled FBI secretary living out a life in a hostile country with no knowledge of language or livelihood. How desperately tried to save her career, the heroine of Vera Cherna, who became a victim of her own passion. And how strong of spirit was the hero of Costa Ronina, a true patriot who saw the interests of his country deeper and further than the interests of the ruling elite.
And it goes on and on. There are many heroes with a strong plot base, many different scenario moves and small scenario twists that make both the main characters and the viewer think: whether the hiding Banderites deserve punishment, whether the traitors had another way out, what is more important - their native country or faith, whether the Western way of life is so bad, how to tell your children the truth that they were born in a lie, what a real friend is in your understanding and much more.
These are not unambiguous questions, and the project provides mixed answers. And most importantly, who will outplay whom is the FBI’s counterintelligence or the KGB’s illegal intelligence, and this issue is already creating indescribable tension, especially in the final season.
I have already praised the series before for the majestic plans of the Lubyanka and Lefortovo dungeons, for the corresponding reality (not counting the first couple of seasons) military uniforms of the Chekists and border guards, for the streets of Soviet Moscow and with each season developing Russian speech, for the Volga GAZ-24, for ' Garage' and 'Moscow does not believe in tears', for discussing the results of the Great Patriotic and Russian actors in secondary roles. The entourage of Soviet Russia of the late perestroika recreated simply magnificently for an English-language series, no one in Hollywood has reached such a level - it is noticeable that the author of the project has studied Russia well during his work in the CIA.
As for caste, the melancholy character Matthew Reese turned out to be the most touching spy I've seen on screen. You really care about him, you sympathize with him, you hope for him. This is a real central character, causing much more sympathy than at first glance tough Keri Russell, capable of much for the sake of his service, but also in the course of the series revealed as a loving wife and mother, not just a fanatical Communist. Costa Ronin also tried on the role of an illegal GRU in 'Homeland' therefore in the last season of 'Americans' gave us a kind of Tsyganov from ' Where the Motherland begins', only stronger in dramatic terms and heartfeltly played: a joke - the hero risks his family for the sake of his country, which did not treat him fairly! And here his tandem with Noah Emmerirch looks especially powerful: they are on opposite sides of the barricades, but they are both officers, knights of the cloak and dagger with an inherent code of honor, mutual respect and mutual understanding. They might even have become friends if geopolitics, fate, and service had not set them apart. Emmerirch in the last season is generally incredibly happy - the actor reveals his hero so much that nothing remains from the stupid Stan from the first season: we see a cunning investigator, a faithful friend, an honest man. Margot Martindale gives a very strong game in the last dialogue with Elizabeth. One can only be sad that in recent seasons Richard Thomas was not with us, but his storyline was completed with dignity, as was the story of Frank Langello in an equally dramatic and sad image of a curator of Soviet illegals with his own personal drama. Even Keidrich Sellati and Holly Taylor as actors have grown up before our very eyes.
The most powerful spy drama of modern cinema and television has come to an end, a whole life filled with heroes with their complex fate and events - joyful and sad, tragic and dramatic, which united them. The real saga ended, and ended beautifully, and it is unlikely that in the near future at least someone from this genre niche will catch up.
10 out of 10
Hollywood’s attitude towards the USSR (Russia) is quite specific, but consistent. As a rule, the relevant characters are a soulless immoral contingent, disturbing the tranquility of the citadel of democracy by uniting into the Russian mafia or appearing as ready-made sabotage / paramilitary groups, or alternatively living in a gloomy and hopeless Mordor, where half sits and the other half guards.
Undoubtedly, there are exceptions sometimes, and the Americans are unambiguous about them. In the series there are worthy intrigues, rather unconventional characters that cause empathy, a plot whose development is interesting to witness and, in fact, the conflict of two worldviews. The undeniable advantages also include the presence of caste on the role of Russian-speaking characters of Russian-speaking actors and their rather lively dialogues.
From the first series attracts a certain neutrality of the writers in relation to the main characters. All of them are professionals who can take extreme measures to achieve the goals set by their country. But sometimes it seems that the forces to withstand the neutral tone are running out, and the cranberry begins like a shooting without trial and investigation right in the middle of the corridor, or a prison, or an isolation center with a close-up of blood spreading along the floor or the betrayal of a high-ranking employee of the Soviet station “because it is so right” (in the opposite direction this does not work).
By the end of the series, there is a gradual shift in emphasis. The Russians become criminals and a ruthless beast hunted by the valiant law enforcement officers of the FBI. Some incomprehensible internecine strife within Soviet intelligence with conspiracies and murders worthy of Bond is drawn by the ears. By the way, in the final series, I was preparing for the most inadequate denouement I could imagine. But it is worth paying tribute to the showrunners, here they coped very well, although, as for me, they ruined the entire story arc with the daughter of the main characters.
In conclusion, the series is definitely worth watching, but the inability of its creators to maintain a neutral position throughout the series still does not allow me to make the review green.
For starters, I will inform you that the series was recommended as reliable by our former illegal alien in the United States Andrei Bezrukov in his interview with Brilyov. Therefore, it can be viewed from a general educational point of view to all who are interested in intelligence in a broad sense.
From an aesthetic point of view, the series is almost perfect: exceptional attention to detail, recreating their time, perfect consistency of style in clothes and interiors, the actors are quite attractive, but not overly beautiful. Sweets, not visuals!
Further, all actors who play Russian have Russian, if not native, then second, and speak it fluently and with understanding of meaning. This, of course, is unusual for American films about Russians.
But the main course of the series is the adaptation of American ideas about Russians. It should be said that the “ministry of propaganda” of the United States revised the main ideological vector and for this series presented a new myth about Russia, and actively exploits existing ones.
"We are not like this, the country is like this"
In the context of the series, this means showing essentially good Russian spies (they have children, love, and moral anguish), who are directly deceived by the totalitarian regime and therefore commit their terrible deeds against peaceful citizens of America. Right heart should break in the viewer, when the dearest Russian spy poisoned accidentally appeared at the scene of the operation grandmother-accountant or shoots the truck driver.
The mysterious Russian soul
Americans have a hard time understanding this concept, although they probably invented it themselves, and it is even harder for them to convey it through drama. You have to put dialogs into the characters’ mouths like, “Do you want to do this?” - Yes. Nope. I don't know. Or, for example, so fall in love with one of the heroines of the second plan in a nasty hump-nosed grouse-physicist that she is ready to sacrifice her life for him.
Beat your own, so that others may be afraid
The intentional opposition of the “Soviets” to their own citizens and to the American defector is cutting the eye. If the latter is carefully exfiltrated from the USA, then the citizens of the USSR, presumably, must go through all the circles of hell before, after and during their stay in a capitalist country.
"Life in poverty"
On this topic, the creators trampled on the full program, but, again, not without blunders. For example, a traitor gets some kind of contentment in a sharashka, where she was sent to work instead of prison, triple cologne, comb and capron stockings. The workers are served coffee in the workplace. Acorn coffee would be more plausible.
If you evaluate the first 4 seasons, the creators deflated around the middle of the third. But if someone wants to watch the following, then master the fourth, because most of the storylines are through.
Those who spent 5 seasons saw how a nice pair of scouts selflessly fulfill their duty and steadfastly survive everyday difficulties. For the first 4 seasons of the dynamically developing spy story, the viewer with the characters is deeply fused, there is a trusting perception of the characters. Elizabeth is the embodiment of femininity, and Philip is the model of a man. How can you not feel sympathy for them and their whole family?
Remember. The first 4 seasons work to establish a powerful emotional connection between the viewer and the main characters.
What do we see in Season 5?
In the 5th season, already formed authorities broadcast on a short route (directly in the heart of the viewer) attitude to key phenomena.
The main charge is obvious, the main characters are meaningfully silent and justifying themselves a little, turning their eyes all season, to the direct question of the daughter: If the Soviet Union is so good, why is it in crisis and cannot feed itself, buys grain from its enemy? .
All seasons we see the abundance and prosperity of the middle class of America as scenery and nothing but pure, healthy prosperity and abundance on the American side we see at all. While the scenery pre-perestroika Moscow is naturally not so positive.
So, sum up the balance of the 5th season, cutting coupons from the first 4, which are also cranberry, but partly with action sugar.
We list the most vivid, key moments with the help of which the image of our side and American is formed in the series.
(I will use general language to avoid spoilers)
Our side:
- The curators of the main characters have a dark totalitarian past.
The main character was abused at home.
- GG's father has a dark totalitarian past.
- The mother of the “honest” traitor of the homeland Obkhsnik served “no way.”
- The American traitor to the American homeland goes to empty Soviet stores and fries potatoes under the “polushko field” ... (sobbed with laughter)
An Orthodox priest is a clumsy freak.
- Cars in the Union were beautiful only in the magazine “Science and Life” and the diplomatic corps.
- The constant talk that the whole country survives on corruption.
- Bloody Soviet executioners used biological weapons against the then freedom-loving, striving for democratic values, mujahideen.
Here, no matter whose cow is moaning, it is enough to recall the burning of Vietnamese forests by Agent Orange and the widespread use of depleted uranium ammunition in recent conflicts involving the United States.
American side:
- Americans want to feed the world, not kill Soviet agriculture. They are helped by a traitor to the Soviet homeland.
The FBI is going against everyone so that the CIA stops developing an “honest” traitor to the Soviet homeland.
Pastor Tim, an advanced Protestant priest who lives by the laws of God and takes care of his flock.
- To solve the problem with teeth, it is enough to sell the Soviet homeland.
- Capitalist "abundance." GG with their own hands collect humanitarian aid to Africa.
The final heartbreaking scene with a kind loving murderer and Nazi collaborator in the stronghold of democracy.
It seems that everything is clear, our side in absolute minus and negativity, and Americans act as a neutral environment and a standard of norms. Explanations are not required, everything is counted from minus 10 to plus 10 know how.
Let us answer what we are whipped on the cheeks throughout the series, namely, where the food crisis in the USSR in the 80s came from.
Let us remember what happened at the end of the last century.
And in the country during this period, the main event took place – people’s property began to be appropriated by private individuals, this is simply called “counter-revolution”.
Question: How can we ensure that the Soviet people do not oppose the counter-revolution in the country and the transfer of people's property to private hands?
You need to do three things.
First, the Soviet people must be made to terrify their own history. Therefore, for each period of Soviet history, the Black Myth was composed, in the 80s they were gathered together and thrown into a fan, which is the most remarkable and interesting, they were replicated and distributed by almost all official Soviet publications.
By the way, this film is slightly less than completely consists of perestroika and post-perestroika black myths. (shooting everyone and everywhere in the Soviet state, widespread rape, one half of the people was sitting, the other guarded, etc., etc.).
Second, the people must be tempted by capitalism. How do you do that? Very simply, one of the main mechanisms of seduction is Hollywood, you just need to make its products available to Soviet people. Think about it, a whole factory for the production of video recorders is being built in the USSR. There are video recorders, but there is no Soviet content to them, only enemy. All the behind-the-scenes translators of Hollywood pirate films are either the children of the Foreign Ministry or the children of the KGB. They are all known and no one touches them.
Almost every Hollywood film is a ready-made agitation, because they show mainly the life of the local small middle class, which in terms of consumption bypasses the average Soviet person ... (but stop, the topic is very large).
The third, the final chord, is the aggravation of the deficit, which took place in the second half of the 80s.
When there is nothing to eat, it is immediately remembered which SOVok is bad (black myths) and which Cap. enemies are good (Hollywood agitations).
In the late 80s, there was a deliberate covert policy that negligently and purposefully destroyed food in large quantities, and that was precisely the policy, not the shortcomings of the economic system.
I am sure that the question of the food shortage of the 80s will still be opened from an interesting side, but its main reason is, of course, the departure from communist ideology in Khrushchev’s time, the insertion of capitalist concepts and mechanisms into the socialist economy and, as a result, its mutation into an unhealthy hybrid.
It’s like in a joke: either cowards or crosses.
So, to summarize, in the 80s there was not a collapse of the socialist economic system, which strongly hints at this enemy series, in the 80s there was an internal betrayal of part of the country's leadership.
Let’s move on to the final, most emotional moment of season 5 – the episode with a former Nazi collaborator. To all who at this moment burst a tear sympathizing with the repentant criminal, I want to remind you how things really were with the sheltering of Nazi executioners in the stronghold of democracy and who they really want to whitewash with such tearful episodes.
Their name is Legion:
Yaroslav Stetsko is the second person in the OUN/B after Bandera. During the time Stetsko was in Lviv and (according to him) managed it, about 7 thousand people were killed. In 44th the Nazis created UPA at the head of which, among others, stood Stetsko.
After the war, he was chairman of the ABN and one of the main leaders of the AKL. Was at a dinner at the White House, which was attended by R. Reagan (President) and J. Bush Sr.
Mikola Swan - the head of the security service OUN/B. On his account the extermination of native Russians, Communists and Jews. Thousands of Nazi opponents were killed during the war and in the post-war period. He worked closely with the CIA. Lived since the 49th in the United States, there and settled.
Viorel Trifa
Chirila Chiuntu
Alfred Berzins
Stefan Hefer
... etc.
Your struggle is our struggle, your dream is our dream. R. Reagan
Words addressed to the hall where I sit. Stetsko and others like him.
The events in Ukraine today are their common victory, and this series is a continuation of their common Kampf.
1 out of 10
Every time you come across films like “during the confrontation between the USSR and the United States...” you don’t want to watch them because you already know what you’re going to see. This time is no exception. Stalingrad, vodka, cakes, violence and everything in the same spirit.
Why, for example, in All Graves, does White embark on a criminal path? Of course, there is not enough money for anything, the work is low-paid, there is a problem with children, and then there is an imminent death. In Fargo, the motives for criminal acts are also clear. There is no problem with presentation, so everything is interesting. What is it? A Soviet agent looks at the American flag, listens to the anthem and wants to run over, and although he voices the run figure of 3 million, it turns out to be something else - in the anthem, I understood. In general, the motivation of Soviet agents is also ridiculous: they are raped, mocked, and so forced to serve the Soviets. Well, come up with something interconnected, and not this ancient, perestroika and already beaten.
It is clear that stereotypes in the series are not discussed, and therefore the end of the series, as he on TV in the United States, will end up the same as in previous films: happy ending of the couple by transitioning to “Americans”. Hence the name of the opera.
I watch the film all the time with a painful feeling of ruthlessness, with which ordinary people who accidentally or not accidentally find themselves in the way of these simply killers are eliminated. It is the same theme of measuring the interests of the state and the life of an ordinary person that stands next to these interests. The same disgusting breed of manipulators of all stripes.
You probably watch the show because these spies have a strange combination of human love for their children and inhuman actions towards other people who have become a hindrance to their task. And you still expect, but suddenly a catharsis will happen to the characters, suddenly normal reflection will happen to them for a person, and they realize that they have endlessly and pointlessly done evil, hiding behind the higher good, but in fact one big delusion (in the scene at night in the workshop with the old mistress of the institution who accidentally came in all this is well said). It would be nice if nothing bad happened to their children, and they would just turn away from their parents with contempt - this would be a crime-punishment in the Christian way. Fyodor Mikhailovich did not in vain come up with all this, wrote, and survived himself, having made immeasurably smaller mistakes in his youth.
The series tells the story of two KGB agents sent to America in the 60s, deeply secretive under the American family, living in the suburbs of Washington with two children. In the yard of the 80s, the Cold War, President Reagan, the arms race, for everything that happens in the country, the FBI are looking for a Russian trace, although Soviet agents C also do not sit idly by, but work at all for the benefit of the homeland and, by the way, very successfully. In almost everything ahead of the American detectives from the FBI and the CIA, Philip and Elizabeth, but in fact Misha and Nadezhda, conduct their missions almost under the nose of the new neighbor of the FBI agent, simultaneously solving problems of a personal nature such as love and trust in each other.
The series is very well styled, all these cars, clothes, it’s like you’re really watching a movie from the 80s. I wonder if you’re always thinking, when was that? In the era of pre-mobile phones and video cameras on all important objects, which is why heroes manage most of their escapades, and their faces are captured only by artists according to eyewitnesses. It’s all under each other’s hood, DNA tests and so on.
Of course, not the last place is occupied by excellent acting and great casting, it is funny that British actors are often invited to the Russians, and here Philip is embodied by the British Matthew Rhys, who amazes with his play and causes admiration. American Cary Russell is also incredibly organic in the role of an ideological spy, gradually beginning to show feelings for her “husband”.
8 out of 10
In the 80-ies between the USSR and the United States was the Cold War. KGB agents Elizabeth and Philip were forced to settle in the United States and live there under cover for many years. In appearance, an ordinary American family - a husband with a wife and two children, but in fact, the enemies of the United States.
The film shows that the Russian agents were hard given their service, they were in constant tension under the fear of exposure, especially Elizabeth.
After all, in fact, it is what you need to have endurance and acting skills to live side by side with an FBI agent for several years, go to visit him, drink beer with him and not give yourself away with a single muscle!!
Also in the film quite clearly visible great love for their children, fear for their fate. Children have no idea who their parents really are and it would be better for them to remain in the dark.
Gradually, Elizabeth and Philip fall in love with each other, it interferes with their work, but the development of their relationship is interesting to watch. They are, of course, agents of counterintelligence, but above all they are people who know how to love, are afraid of losing loved ones, fear for their lives, and in the end dream of living an ordinary life without working for the state and not performing regular tasks.
The series is interesting because it is not only about the politics and conflict relations of the two largest states, but also about love and simple human relationships.
I wonder how the series will end. Will our contractors be exposed, or will they honorably fulfill their civic duty and return to their homeland with a clear conscience? Let’s hope for a good ending.
This series contains many episodes. I’ll give you a little bit of an overview of one of them, just to explain my point. I am sure that this is not a spoiler:
In one episode, a CIA plot leads to the deaths of 163 Soviet sailors. The incident caused a strong resonance among KGB agents at all levels. As an act of retaliation, the Center authorizes an operation to expose and publicize the CIA’s covert activities in the preparation of the Nicaraguan Contras. During the operation, one American soldier was killed, a sentry at a secret base.
The criterion for success in a traditional war is, as a rule, the greatest number of casualties of your opponent. The more enemy soldiers we destroy, the sooner the war will end. At the same time, if we manage to keep our soldiers, the war will end with a profit in our favor, which is even better.
In the Cold War, everything was the opposite: the Americans killed 163 Soviet sailors, got dirty in blood (moral load), caused themselves diplomatic damage (relations with the USSR), provoked a retaliatory reaction.
The Russians, at the same time, killed only one soldier, and that only because he happened to be in the wrong place, and, without exaggeration, did God-pleasing work, exposing the criminal activities of the CIA in Nicaragua. +200 to reputation.
The fewer murders you commit, the more subtle your actions will be. The more invisible your actions, the more enemy secrets you can steal.
The main conclusion: espionage war, by its nature and motivation, is absolutely humane, compared to traditional war. Let's fight more spy wars and less traditional ones. . .
In general, I expected a little more Russophobia and a little less objectivity from such a work. Nicely surprised.
Personally, I did not like the stamps and prejudices in the series, a fantastic lie in the style of Resunovsk-Suvorov cranberries. A little more detail.
The attention of the audience is presented to Russian spies, soulless cyborgs, and in everyday life a married couple with adopted children undercover. Very cool, ruthless, superbly skilled in Sino-Indian hand-to-hand, ideologically enduring, especially a lady who gets secrets mostly through bed. True, the boy periodically inappropriately whips up on the subject more expensive to sell to capitalist paradise, but stumbles upon an icy wall of misunderstanding of his colleague, whom he is first unconvincingly jealous, and then equally unconvincingly loves.
Despite all the steepness, all conceivable norms of behavior, secrecy and decision-making are violated. These cyborgs are soulless machines, just like their former teachers. The Soviet Union, represented by the curators, generals and mentors of these cyborgs, is the expected evil empire, with an animal grin, terrorizing white and fluffy America.
I wouldn’t be surprised if a staunch cyborg madam or her husband eventually absorbed American values and threw off the “chains of communism.”
2 out of 10
Literally swallowed two seasons. And I'm a very busy man! I’ve just given up on things, at least home.
Well, I exhaled, looked around, it's time to reflect.
Very good actors, without exception. In some scenes, Keri Russell's murderous look leaves the soul on its heels! Like a Gorgon jellyfish. The Sea of Charm by Matthew Reese. Among the others is Margot Martindale.
It is difficult to listen to Russian-speaking characters. This is the only serious minus, which, of course, is noticeable only to the Russian-speaking viewer.
I was deeply saddened by the main characters. What a simple human happiness for them! But you know, it won't happen, it won't. They are men of war and men of war. While FBI agents, their antagonists in the series are only people at war.
I’ve always been fascinated by “undercover work.” Probably after Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs." How is that possible? How to live for years under a foreign guise without going crazy? You must be forgetting your old self. What is the motivation for this service that takes a lifetime? How can we prepare for this? How can I have children? – I have no answer.
But, dear viewer, make up your own mind. Watch this show. Admire the high class of American filmmaking. Envy me.
The second season of the series ' Americans' was much weaker in terms of suspense. The dramatic line was also affected. Heroes seem to be reconciled to the fact that connections on the side are for them a given. Their family life is well established. But now they have problems with their daughter, who at the age of 14 began to search for her place in life - and came to the conclusion that he was in the Church. In addition, the writers decided to make the second season detective - throughout the series the viewer will be tormented by the question - who is the killer? The ending will be unexpected.
In general, the series continues the lines started in the first season. The center rigidly puts the problem before those who are on the front line of the confrontation - and is in fact fighting behind enemy lines. A couple of KGB agents pose as good Native Americans, and they succeed. Not even a neighbor, a veteran FBI agent, suspects anything. At the same time, the creators of the series try to tie fictional circumstances to real ones - the second season hints at the prototype of the Internet, tells about invisible aircraft ' Stealth' and the computer program ' Echo' designed to tie everything together. The Cold War is in full swing. And although we know how it will end (that the Soviet Union will lose it and fall apart), still - sick & #39; for our & #39;.
Americans, of course, are an amazing nation. Imagine that we would shoot a series about American spies, which the viewer has to empathize. That's basically impossible. Although there was a series of old Soviet films with Mikhail Zhenov in the title role about ' the fate of the resident'. But there the main character is quickly caught and recruited, after which he begins to work for the USSR. Maybe for this reason, but I always thought that the main characters of the series ' Americans' also waiting for re-recruitment. But so far - for two seasons - they remain loyal to the Motherland, or rather the USSR. Although they like the American way of life - their own house, a new car, affordable appliances and beautiful clothes. But they have no illusions - all this ' the consumer society' created by the enemy and the enemy is planted to tempt the Soviet man.
You admire the spirit of these people. And at the same time, you wonder what low emotionality it takes to experience such moral suffering and constant stress, and at the same time remain in the ranks.
According to the series, the spy’s main weapon is sex and the science of seduction. The main characters use "love" #39; easily and very skillfully - to subdue people and make them perform the desired task. Of course, they are not only armed with sex. There is both intimidation and persuasion, if someone is stubborn, they can be removed.
' Americans' despite the fact that the second season came out much weaker, undoubtedly remains one of the best drama shows with a cross-cutting plot on television. The weak point, of course, is the image of the Russians. All the Russian actors who play our kgbeshniks from the embassy are second-rate. With the exception, perhaps, of a man named Costa Ronin who appeared in the second season - that's his name, most likely it's a creative pseudonym.
Here we are sitting on the couch and watching a movie about spies, and they are there, on the front lines, right now, fighting for our country. Those who didn't turn in during the latest spy scandal. I wouldn't want to be in their shoes. This is one of the worst jobs in the world.
The third season is being filmed by FX TV. I look forward to it.
Everything in this life has consequences. It's like the footprints we leave in life when we face other people's fates and lives. That is why, even after the end of World War II, the war as such did not end. After all, each side (even allies) saw what the others were capable of, and this gave rise to the phenomenon of the Cold War, which became the subject of a huge number of films. So the creator of this series, Joe Weisberg, seems to return to a topic that has long been studied along and across, but presents it from a completely different side. Frankly speaking, this series can be safely called not only the brightest novelty of the season, but also one of the strongest series of our time, which despite this managed to remain in the shadow of numerous awards and nominations. But that doesn’t make the series worse, but rather the opposite. After all, the series impresses with its correctly chosen direction.
Do not expect a huge amount of action, violence, corpses and spectacle with maximum destruction. The creators of the tape presented this very spectacle in small quantities and less 'pop root'. It seems to reflect the very spirit of the Cold War. Where the main actions took place not behind the skirmishes from the seas of corpses and destruction, but secretly from prying eyes and perhaps even anti-dynamically. This is what the spirit of that time fully reveals. Including how convincingly the creators of the tape managed to reflect the atmosphere of America at that time. Where the lack of bright colors and purely joyful life was compensated by absolutely gray shades literally everywhere. Both in the visual environment and in the mood of the Americans themselves. The creators of the film perfectly reflected the fear of the third world war, which flew on both sides of the barricades.
I have always believed that there are neither good nor bad in war. They both took a lot of lives and did terrible things. It's all about subjectivity. After all, if for the French Napoleon is a great commander, then for us a tyrant, and if Stalin was for us & #39; everything & #39; then for the Americans he was a madman causing fear and anxiety for his own life. So many movies I haven’t seen about the Cold War have one thing in common. Subjectivism. The Americans showed that the Russians were the bad ones. The Russians are the bad Americans. This series is captivating by the fact that it does not have a standard division into black and white, good and evil. Everything is completely gray. In this connection, the government of the United States and the USSR of that time are absolutely the same, and now and then tossed between sympathy and antipathy.
The creators of the series reflected the severity of the conflict perfectly and the series wins also by the fact that the story itself develops against the background of very interesting family relations between the two main characters. After all, on the one hand, they are KGB agents who perform their tasks and play roles. On the other hand, they like the American way of life, they love their families and each other. Each episode of the series tests them for strength and tries to determine which side they are drawn to and leans more. In some century, the project about the Cold War impresses not at all with political intrigues and similar espionage passions, but with the usual fates of ordinary people who at one moment can turn from pawns to queens, and sometimes even come across a contradictory checkmate.
The unambiguous advantage of the series can be considered a luxurious cast. After a long downtime in little-known projects, Cary Russell triumphantly returns to the big leagues last year and definitely the role in this series I consider the best in her career. Cary has never played such a controversial and profound dramatic image. I was also impressed by Matthew Reese, to whom I was imbued with great sympathy. For Matthew not only fascinated with his bright charisma, but also created a very natural image. It’s like a real person on the screen, not an actor.
Noah Emmerick played perhaps a classic, but certainly impressive FBI agent. As well as Margot Martindale, who left perhaps the strongest impression in comparison with all the other actors. After all, her character turned out to be incredibly interesting. Visually, she creates an image of a very calculating and two-faced woman, but in fact hiding her kindness and devotion to her people. The character of which you can hate in essence, but to which you are imbued with unconditional sympathy and respect. Well, naturally captivated the soul and "Annette Mahendru". Perhaps even if not a game, then crazy charm and incredible attractiveness.
10 out of 10
Americans - this is not only the brightest serial novelty of the season, but also definitely one of the strongest series of our time. Whether or not he has received the award or not. Since such a strong and intriguing look at the topic of the Cold War has never been before.
Not so long ago, the second season of the series “Homeland” was completed, in which one of the favorite topics in cinema – espionage – was touched upon. The success of “Homeland” seems to have left not only ordinary viewers indifferent, but also the creators of the series “Americans”, where the theme of spies is also being promoted, albeit slightly in a different direction. And if the realities of the 21st century, in Homeland, force Americans to fight or “fight” (who is more convenient from an ideological point of view) with the Islamist world, then in The Americans the action takes place at the end of the 20th century, in the peak phase of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, but not the secular one.
This is a fake family of undercover spies trying to find out the weapons secrets of Americans and prevent what they think is a real hot war. It would seem that a simple and uncomplicated plot, but interest in the series brings rainbow events - murders from both sides. Philip and Elizabeth are representatives of the Soviet Union, staunch patriots who have too closely and comfortably dug into the pleasant conditions of American paradise. They are already beginning to realize that they are just the tip of the iceberg in clever combinations of two countries, which by and large do not care about their agents, this is best understood by Philip, who offers Elizabeth to throw everything to the damn and go to the bottom. But she is too patriotic, or an idiot, it will show the events of the second season, in general, everything is somehow cracking at the seams, including marriage.
Originally, as mentioned above, the family was fake, but people are rubbing themselves, Philip and Elizabeth had the illusion of a real marriage, which is not possible under the working conditions of these two people. Events develop in such a way that the theme of betrayal comes to the fore in the series, and betrayal is comprehensive: the husband of his wife, the state of citizens, the real desired. The “Americans” say that there is no truth, anywhere, on any side, and the choice of side is determined by a combination of various small and large circumstances. Which, by the way, is what Philip is trying to explain to his Elizabeth.
It is especially interesting to see how the Russians are represented in the series. Thank goodness nothing terrible was noticed. The only thing that confused and knocked out of the credibility of what was happening was the Russians, who spoke with a monstrous American accent, the old trouble and the problem of American cinema with Russian participation. I don’t understand what prevents you from hiring real native speakers. The second thing that made my sense of the validity of what was happening on the screen a little bit more subdued was the strange and incongruous circumstances. For example, a completely caricatured curator of Philip and Elizabeth - Claudia, a fat aunt with a cigarette in her teeth, which is not a word - a sentence and moralizing. Well, the third point, which is difficult to imagine in a real spy life: the living of spies and the one who chases them, in the neighborhood, and the obvious sympathy of the second to the first generally makes you sometimes smile and slightly close your eyes to what is happening, why spoil the pleasure of the series.
In summary, we can say that each of us is made by the circumstances in which we are and the place where we live. At the end of the first season, I began to realize that the main active spies were quite acclimatized and would become Americans. Must be. In real life. That's the logic of events.
To begin with, I'm just an ordinary serialist. Of course, I have not seen everything that the American entertainment industry produces, because it is unrealistic.
Therefore, I had nothing to compare especially in this thematic niche, I mean Homeland, which I have not seen.
I started watching only because it was a novelty and it was translated by Newstudio.
And I got hooked on something from the first series. Maybe it was music - Tusk by Fleetwood Mac, I don't know. But this is a very strong thing.
And then more. Matthew Reese is just something. I have not seen his work before, and maybe I have seen it, but I did not notice it, but here he just amazed me.
Great acting. The transformation is incredible. How he can change. How sexy.
Now he’s one character, then you look at him in a different way and just don’t believe that it’s the same person.
And feeling, and aggression, and mystery - he is able to convey everything.
Keri Russell is not inferior to him. This is a very well-chosen couple. Nothing remains of that naive girl who played in 'August Rush'.
I want to mention the young actress of Russian origin Annette Mahendura. The girl did her best. In fact, this is her first major film role.
It was very convincing.
I do not want to go into the details of the correctness of the American display of Soviet paraphernalia of those years, there will always be excesses in this. But I want to celebrate a good Russian language in the series, although my ears did not curl up.
Of course, if you find fault, there is a mass inconsistency. But I watch feature films, and scientific documentary. I think that's forgivable.