Together into a Bright Future!

A Photo Stand-in Inspired by Alexei Balabanov's Film "Cargo 200."

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While my compatriots cheerfully quote the great Sergei Bodrov and the characters he played in the films of the great Alexei Balabanov, taking their statements out of context and distorting them—knowing the authors can no longer object—I increasingly recall another film by the same director, the harsh and grim "Cargo 200," and see more and more parallels with today. I can't shake the feeling that we are all trying on one role or another from this film. Unfortunately, there are no characters with happy fates there. But never mind, we look optimistically into a bright future, no matter how dark our present is!

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*"Cargo 200" is a 2007 Russian drama film by Alexei Balabanov. The film is set in 1984, during the late Soviet era, and depicts a bleak and brutal story involving the kidnapping and rape of a party official's daughter by a police major. The title refers to the Soviet military term for the transportation of soldiers' bodies. The film explores themes of moral decay, violence, and the corruption of society.*The photo stand-in depicts the scene of the kidnapping.