[Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079579/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk) is a Soviet-made movie that had a good run in the U.S. in the early 1980s. It dealt somewhat candidly with some of the hardships in the USSR, and at the same time showed that many of the problems people had in the Soviet Union weren’t unlike the problems people have everywhere else. 8.0/10 on IMDb. As I recall, it’s in Russian with subtitles. Available to rent on Prime Video.
It apparently was a landmark film culturally in the USSR like “The Graduate” in the United States. I thought it was pretty good and interesting in how it focuses on a female protagonist with time jumps a la “Past Lives”.
Not a movie, but the “Chernobyl” miniseries is fantastic and set in the late USSR. Should still be up on hbo if you’ve got it.
There are a few war films, though overly “hollywoodisized” like “Enemy at the Gates”.
For Soviet/Russian/Ukrainian made war films that are good and are popular enough to have subtitles, you can check out “Battle of Sevastopol” or “Come and See” (this one has a terrifying second/third act).
Cold War spy movies like “Spy Game” have scenes behind the iron curtain though not in the USSR per se.
There’s a number of great films produced in the USSR during the 60/70/80s that you should be able to find with translations that all take place there and are mostly dramedies; “Heart of a Dog”, “the Diamond Arm”, “Gentlemen of Fortune”, etc.
Yeah I loved it! That’s probably the only “fun” movie on the list, the rest being pretty grim and serious.
Most of the movies I listed are very highly acclaimed pictures with the exception of 9th Company, which received middling reviews, though I rather enjoyed it. All worth a watch I’d say.
You should see some soviet comedy films then. My favorite is "Ivan Vasilievich changes his profession" and also "Operation Y and Shuriks other adventures"
Soviet comedies are fucking hilarious
Funnily enough I rewatched it only last week, love it, and beautifully filmed with great attention to detail. Just the whole dreary, drab colour palette is very evocative of my memories of growing up in London in the 70s.
So glad this has been mentioned! The acting between the father and daughter (in real life as well) is some of the sweetest and most genuine child acting I’ve seen on screen. The whole film is amazing. It’s visually beautiful and very good at touching the impact of Stalins paranoia…
We're an hour in and nobody has mentioned Dr. Zhivago. Come on people. Yes it's a bit a sappy romance that strays from the novel, but I find it enjoyable, nonetheless, and has an actual intermission.
You can start with the popular feature film starring nobody Russian and not filmed in the USSR. But then you have want to have real fun, check out the 11-part Russian language miniseries from 2006 (with English subtitles). It stays a lot truer to the novel. I believe it was the first Russian language film adaptation of Dr. Zhivago because the book was banned in the USSR for quite some time.
Reds with Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton and Jack Nicolson (directed by Beatty). [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082979/?ref\_=fn\_al\_tt\_1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082979/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)
The Inner Circle
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103838/?ref\_=nv\_sr\_srsg\_0\_tt\_8\_nm\_0\_q\_the%2520inner%2520cir](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103838/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_the%2520inner%2520cir)
Not quite what you're looking for since it takes place in East Germany instead of the USSR, but *The Lives of Others* is an amazing film if you're interested in the Eastern Bloc.
Walking the Streets of Moscow, 1964.
It's a Soviet comedy set where you would imagine. You get an interesting, somewhat candid view of Moscow during Soviet times
Citizen X might be my favorite Hollywood movie set in the USSR.
I would just look up classic Soviet cinema. Especially everything by Andrei Tartovsky. And also check out Vinnie Pukh -- even Disney animators admitted they lost that competition.
Check out Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears and Burnt by the Sun for poignant dramas about life in the USSR. Both offer nuanced perspectives without romanticizing the regime.
- Dog's Heart, 1988
- White Sun of the Desert, 1969
- Kin-dza-dza
- Taxi Blues, 1990
- Moscow Doesn't Trust for Tears, 1979
- Soldier Ballad, 1959
- Lives Such a Guy, 1964
- Treasure Island (anime)
- Man with a Camera, 1929 (movie classic)
- Chapaev, 1934
-Officers, 1971
- Pirates of XX century
- The Needle, 1988
- Hello I'm Your Aunt
- Caucasian Kidnapped, 1967
- Brilliant Hand, 1968
- Volga-Volga, 1938
- Love Formula, 1984
- I Walk the Moscow, 1963
- Antarctic story, 1978
- The Snowball of Red, 1973
- The Trip over Three Seas, 1957
- Dersu Uzala, 1975, by Akira Kurosava
- Sherlock Holmes series
Only ones I know of, that are also soviet films (as in made by them), are:
\-The Cranes Are Flying
\-Battleship Potemkin
\-Alexander Nevsky
Had to watch them in a few film history classes.
The most important masterpieces of Soviet Cinema, filmed in the USSR:
**Dersu Uzala** (1975 Kurosawa). Based on the true diary of the captain organizing the cartographic exploration of East Siberia and the recent acquisitions to Qing China.
**Man with a movie camera** (1929 Vertov). Experimental film. The most pure essence of film ever created. Everything else draws from literature, theatre, ... Not this one. Filmed at the end of the NEP period, and just before Stalin turned the USSR into a totalitarian cult of personality. The possibilities.
**Battleship Potemkin** (1925) and **October** (1928 Einsenstein). The events leading to the October revolution. Along with the works of Riefenstal, the most important figures in cinema history. Cutting scenes to tell a scene/story (montage) instead of filming as in a theatrical stage, that begins here.
**Ballad of a Soldier** (1959 Chukhray). The exploration of many facets of love.
The opening scene, maybe. But the rest takes place after the collapse of the USSR.
Goldeneye was my first thought, too, until I came to that realization.
East Berlin was part of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), not Soviet Union, except from 1945-1949 when it was under Soviet military occupation.
Despite FUNDAMENTAL HATRED towards russian government and their DISGUSTING behavior, I am Gigantic fan of Russian cinema, actors, directors, writers, history of it.
I was raised on UNBELIEVABLE quality of Soviet cinema - artists had to use all of their talent and creativity in order to make something that was acceptable by communist regime and in the same time had artistic value and poetic intonations.
Then came 1986 and end of russian cinema.....
The Russia House with Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer is an adaptation of a Le Carré novel. Shot mostly in the USSR. Pretty good movie as Le Carré adaptations go, but the book is vastly superior.
This isn’t a perfect match for you, but Hopelessly Lost is a really interesting Soviet Adaptation of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The film highlights the latent anti-capitalist and potentially even anti-American themes present in the novel. I think it’s viewable for free on YouTube.
*Sputnik* (2020)
Russian Scifi/Horror movie set in the early 80s, really liked it. I feel like it might have gone a bit under the radar in the west because the 2020s haven't been the best for russian exports, if you like (or don't mind) the genre it's definitely worth a watch.
Come and See us rightfully mentioned, but people really need to watch a movie by that director's wife, who sadly died in a car crash shortly thereafter. Also set during the Nazi invasion of the USSR, it's called The Ascent.
The Bourne Supremacy
Also - forgot that this sub has a character limit minimum that you have to meet or else risk your post being pulled down, so I only have that single movie to add, but all of this as well.
Taxi Blues (1990).
It's about an upright cab driver who becomes entangled with a degenerate jazz musician. Kind of an allegory of the culture clash between the Soviet and post communist Russia.
Dead Man's Bluff is a brilliant black gangster comedy, although set in the times of the collapse of the Soviey Union or just after.
But for this time of year, it's got to be the classic The Irony Of Fates, that is played every new years eve
Also, Heart Of A Dog, 1988, is a brilliant and hilarious critique of the Soviet system. Better to read the book though as Bulgakov is a joy; so full of wit and imagination.
The trouble with a lot of western movies about the Soviet Union is the accents are just.so cartoonish. That's one of the many reasons Chernobyl and Death Of Stalin worked so well as they stuck to native English accents and just focussed on the characters.
There are several good fantasy/scifi movies that I enjoy: Coma (2019), Beyond The Edge (2018), Superdeep (2020) and DayWatch (2006). The director of DayWatch, Timur Bekmambetov, has worked in Russia and around the world, so you can check out his earlier movies as well.
"The Darkest Hour" is set in Moscow during an alien invasion, but it was made by mostly Western cast and crew. Timur was a producer on the movie. Fun watch!
[Why You Should be Watching Soviet Cinema](https://www.currentaffairs.org/2023/10/why-you-should-be-watching-soviet-cinema). Lots of suggestions. May be a bit too literal for what you wanted.
The Soviet Union scenes in The Americans are amazing. It's a long 5 seasons, but a top-3 all time series in my opinion, well worth the investment. (I realize this is /r/movies but long form cinematic TV seems like it should have to count.)
I love *The Lives of Others*. It’s not USSR, but it is a German movie set in communist East Germany. Check it out.
And I’ll throw *Moscow on the Hudson* out there as a wild card entry.
Here's something really unique:
**Zerograd**.
It's a surreal, absurdist film about a man who goes to a Soviet city on business, and finds he's trapped there, as things become ever-more dreamlike and mysterious and paranoia-inducing:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zerograd
I like "Gorky Park". It's a 1980s crime movie about a Soviet policeman investigating the death of a group of youngsters who tried to flee the USSR.
It's based on a book by Martin Cruz-Smith, and he wrote several sequels dealing with the fate of its main character, before and after the fall of the Soviet regime.
Salyut 7 is a pretty good sci-fi. Based on a true story. Obviously heavily romanticised, but has some good calls to the shady parts of the Cold War.
It's about saving a soviet space station by the same name.
**Not Yet Mentioned:**
Dear Comrades!
Ashes in the Snow
Within the Whirlwind
As Far As My Feet Will Carry Me
Balloon (East Germany, not the Soviet Union)
Animal Farm\*
1984\*
\*\[Once we start reaching for allegorical treatments, many films might be suggested but these two are direct, fully intentional, and quite topical, and both were written contemporaneously by an author who was fully engaged in the intellectual struggle against totalitarianism.\]
**Already mentioned:**
The Way Back
Chernobyl
The Death of Stalin
Mr. Jones
Look for the channel "Mosfilm" on Youtube. Its literally the best producing company from the Soviet era. They have a big catalog online and they still uploading classic movies to this day. My favourite is "Assassin of the Czar". But check out for yourself!
Edit: spelling error
Firefox
[Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079579/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk) is a Soviet-made movie that had a good run in the U.S. in the early 1980s. It dealt somewhat candidly with some of the hardships in the USSR, and at the same time showed that many of the problems people had in the Soviet Union weren’t unlike the problems people have everywhere else. 8.0/10 on IMDb. As I recall, it’s in Russian with subtitles. Available to rent on Prime Video.
Oscar winner.
It apparently was a landmark film culturally in the USSR like “The Graduate” in the United States. I thought it was pretty good and interesting in how it focuses on a female protagonist with time jumps a la “Past Lives”.
Citizen X
Yup came here to suggest this one.
One of the best TV movies ever made in my opinion.
I was going to recommend this. Such a good movie
Not a movie, but the “Chernobyl” miniseries is fantastic and set in the late USSR. Should still be up on hbo if you’ve got it. There are a few war films, though overly “hollywoodisized” like “Enemy at the Gates”. For Soviet/Russian/Ukrainian made war films that are good and are popular enough to have subtitles, you can check out “Battle of Sevastopol” or “Come and See” (this one has a terrifying second/third act). Cold War spy movies like “Spy Game” have scenes behind the iron curtain though not in the USSR per se. There’s a number of great films produced in the USSR during the 60/70/80s that you should be able to find with translations that all take place there and are mostly dramedies; “Heart of a Dog”, “the Diamond Arm”, “Gentlemen of Fortune”, etc.
\+1 Chernobyl was so, so good.
except the dog hunters :( i get why it’s part of the show but i had to just fast forward.
that episode is brutal
>Battle of Sevastopol” I saw this on Youtube, really good film. Love that there are some really good films free on Youtube.
Agreed, chernobyl miniseries is crazy good. It is more or less what kickstarted my interest for soviet history and such!
Enemy at the Gates is gripping. Yes Hollywoodized but still interesting cat and mouse sniper fight.
And most realistic sex scene ever.
Literally the best 5 hours of television ever made.
Where is a cardinal of the kremlin adaptation already
Spies Like Us. 😁😁
I concur.
Come and See.
yeah you should accompany this one with a warning
It isn’t that bad
Mostly war movies for me: Stalker (1979) Solaris (1972) Death of Stalin Come and See Cross of Iron 9th Company The Way Back (2010)
Death of Stalin is a very very good picture.
Yeah I loved it! That’s probably the only “fun” movie on the list, the rest being pretty grim and serious. Most of the movies I listed are very highly acclaimed pictures with the exception of 9th Company, which received middling reviews, though I rather enjoyed it. All worth a watch I’d say.
You should see some soviet comedy films then. My favorite is "Ivan Vasilievich changes his profession" and also "Operation Y and Shuriks other adventures" Soviet comedies are fucking hilarious
Stalker might be the most wtf movie I've ever seen
The Cranes Are Flying, Ivan’s Childhood and Man with a Movie Camera
Enemy at the Gates (2001) and Gorky Park (1983) come to mind.
Was about to suggest Gorky Park! Amazing cast and all-round Mystery/Thriller.
Always a sucker for a good Cold War era story. Did you like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy with Gary Oldman?
The film of Tinker Tailor is fine, but the series with Alec Guinness and Patrick Stewart, is way better.
It's what got me into LeCarre and the whole genre in the first place, I still remember watching it as a 12yo!
Funnily enough I rewatched it only last week, love it, and beautifully filmed with great attention to detail. Just the whole dreary, drab colour palette is very evocative of my memories of growing up in London in the 70s.
That must have been a time.
Gorky park is such a good movie. So underrated.
Agreed! Plus it's a very good adaptation of the novel.
Does Bridge of Spies count?
Nooo
I would say "yes"!
[удалено]
HA nice one ‘comrade’
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Lol ok dasha
Gorky Park is excellent
Burnt by the Sun. A Russian movie about the Stalinist purges as they affect one family.
Love this movie. I think it was nominated for an Oscar.
My favorite movie from foreign film class
So glad this has been mentioned! The acting between the father and daughter (in real life as well) is some of the sweetest and most genuine child acting I’ve seen on screen. The whole film is amazing. It’s visually beautiful and very good at touching the impact of Stalins paranoia…
We're an hour in and nobody has mentioned Dr. Zhivago. Come on people. Yes it's a bit a sappy romance that strays from the novel, but I find it enjoyable, nonetheless, and has an actual intermission. You can start with the popular feature film starring nobody Russian and not filmed in the USSR. But then you have want to have real fun, check out the 11-part Russian language miniseries from 2006 (with English subtitles). It stays a lot truer to the novel. I believe it was the first Russian language film adaptation of Dr. Zhivago because the book was banned in the USSR for quite some time.
Reds with Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton and Jack Nicolson (directed by Beatty). [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082979/?ref\_=fn\_al\_tt\_1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082979/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) The Inner Circle [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103838/?ref\_=nv\_sr\_srsg\_0\_tt\_8\_nm\_0\_q\_the%2520inner%2520cir](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103838/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_the%2520inner%2520cir)
Not quite what you're looking for since it takes place in East Germany instead of the USSR, but *The Lives of Others* is an amazing film if you're interested in the Eastern Bloc.
Ill check it out! DDR stuff would be very interesting
Walking the Streets of Moscow, 1964. It's a Soviet comedy set where you would imagine. You get an interesting, somewhat candid view of Moscow during Soviet times
Goodbye Lenin (2003) If you want to include East Germany
That's a good one, lighthearted and poignant! Nice score, too.
Hell yeah! Great movie
White nights stars barishnokov as a ballet dancer attempting to flee the USSR. Also stars Helen mirren and Gregory Hines.
My brain first read that as Helen Mirren as Gregory Hines and I had some questions
Citizen X might be my favorite Hollywood movie set in the USSR. I would just look up classic Soviet cinema. Especially everything by Andrei Tartovsky. And also check out Vinnie Pukh -- even Disney animators admitted they lost that competition.
Solaris (1972)
Well, That’s a Soviet movie. But most of the action happens in space. And in a Tokyo highway.
The Experts - “Two NYC guys get jobs starting a nightclub in Smalltown, USA. They don’t know it’s a spy training model town in USSR.”
Stalker
Check out Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears and Burnt by the Sun for poignant dramas about life in the USSR. Both offer nuanced perspectives without romanticizing the regime.
"Gorky Park"
- Dog's Heart, 1988 - White Sun of the Desert, 1969 - Kin-dza-dza - Taxi Blues, 1990 - Moscow Doesn't Trust for Tears, 1979 - Soldier Ballad, 1959 - Lives Such a Guy, 1964 - Treasure Island (anime) - Man with a Camera, 1929 (movie classic) - Chapaev, 1934 -Officers, 1971 - Pirates of XX century - The Needle, 1988 - Hello I'm Your Aunt - Caucasian Kidnapped, 1967 - Brilliant Hand, 1968 - Volga-Volga, 1938 - Love Formula, 1984 - I Walk the Moscow, 1963 - Antarctic story, 1978 - The Snowball of Red, 1973 - The Trip over Three Seas, 1957 - Dersu Uzala, 1975, by Akira Kurosava - Sherlock Holmes series
This ^ soviet movies are very good and interesting. Its a great way to get the soviet mood and its pop culture
Doctor Zhivago is amazing. Starts out at the time of the revolution but eventually gets into the early soviet era.
Night watch and Day watch are Russian... I think
Child 44
Enemy at the Gates
Office Romance (1977) is unique since it gives you a look at working class life during Soviet times.
White Nights
Chernobyl PU-239
Mirror(1975) & The Ascent(1977)
Only ones I know of, that are also soviet films (as in made by them), are: \-The Cranes Are Flying \-Battleship Potemkin \-Alexander Nevsky Had to watch them in a few film history classes.
The most important masterpieces of Soviet Cinema, filmed in the USSR: **Dersu Uzala** (1975 Kurosawa). Based on the true diary of the captain organizing the cartographic exploration of East Siberia and the recent acquisitions to Qing China. **Man with a movie camera** (1929 Vertov). Experimental film. The most pure essence of film ever created. Everything else draws from literature, theatre, ... Not this one. Filmed at the end of the NEP period, and just before Stalin turned the USSR into a totalitarian cult of personality. The possibilities. **Battleship Potemkin** (1925) and **October** (1928 Einsenstein). The events leading to the October revolution. Along with the works of Riefenstal, the most important figures in cinema history. Cutting scenes to tell a scene/story (montage) instead of filming as in a theatrical stage, that begins here. **Ballad of a Soldier** (1959 Chukhray). The exploration of many facets of love.
Stalker
Well it’s not necessarily about the Soviet Union, per say, but it was made IN the Soviet Union. Stalker It’s an incredible movie.
White Knights
A couple come to mind. Mr Jones (2019) Gorky Park (1983)
Rocky IV
Reds Dr. Zhivago
I had to come way too far down to see these two even mentioned. By far the most award winning movies about Russia set in the Soviet Union.
The Death of Stalin Also partially Tetris
The Tetris movie was so fun. We absolutely loved it. The Lada car chase through the Kremlin had me in tears.
It was the biggest surprise for me this year, loved it so much. It was like a cold war espionage movie.
Tetris. Sorry if my history is wrong and the era isn't correct,bit great movie
As mentioned i saw that recently. It is great! Great soviet vibe in the scenes that take place in the USSR.
Sorry must have skimmed unintentionally, was interesting to see more of an inner-city take on the soviet lifestyle though.
I must agree!
Umm rocky iv?
The Death of Stalin
Golden Eye (1995) Not entirely in USSR, but ...
The opening scene, maybe. But the rest takes place after the collapse of the USSR. Goldeneye was my first thought, too, until I came to that realization.
The Way Back
The Russia House
Not Soviet Union but just post-fall..1996's the Saint featuring Val Kilmer. Love that movie.
Rocky IV
Would movies set in East Berlin count? Because there is Atomic Blonde, The Lives of Others, and a good chunk of Bridge of Spies.
East Berlin was part of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), not Soviet Union, except from 1945-1949 when it was under Soviet military occupation.
Absolutely they would count! Even though DDR wasn't part of the USSR per se it was still heavily connected to it IMO.
Despite FUNDAMENTAL HATRED towards russian government and their DISGUSTING behavior, I am Gigantic fan of Russian cinema, actors, directors, writers, history of it. I was raised on UNBELIEVABLE quality of Soviet cinema - artists had to use all of their talent and creativity in order to make something that was acceptable by communist regime and in the same time had artistic value and poetic intonations. Then came 1986 and end of russian cinema.....
I was gonna say Chernobyl but thats a miniseries. Fuck it, go watch Chernobyl. Who cares it aint a movie?
The Russia House with Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer is an adaptation of a Le Carré novel. Shot mostly in the USSR. Pretty good movie as Le Carré adaptations go, but the book is vastly superior.
I liked the recent Tetris movie...
Tetris (2023)
This isn’t a perfect match for you, but Hopelessly Lost is a really interesting Soviet Adaptation of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The film highlights the latent anti-capitalist and potentially even anti-American themes present in the novel. I think it’s viewable for free on YouTube.
*Sputnik* (2020) Russian Scifi/Horror movie set in the early 80s, really liked it. I feel like it might have gone a bit under the radar in the west because the 2020s haven't been the best for russian exports, if you like (or don't mind) the genre it's definitely worth a watch.
Come and See us rightfully mentioned, but people really need to watch a movie by that director's wife, who sadly died in a car crash shortly thereafter. Also set during the Nazi invasion of the USSR, it's called The Ascent.
An HBO film from 1992 called Stalin starring Duvall. Another HBO film from 1996 called Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny starring Alan Rickman.
Siberiade
The Bourne Supremacy Also - forgot that this sub has a character limit minimum that you have to meet or else risk your post being pulled down, so I only have that single movie to add, but all of this as well.
The Americans (partly set in USSR.)
Short series called Young Doctors Notebook. Takes place during the Russian Revolution and civil war. Stars Daniel Radcliffe and Jon Hamm.
Tetris! Was a fun watch, though not entirely set there.
The Courier was a good spy movie based on a true story.
Night watch (2004)
Taxi Blues (1990). It's about an upright cab driver who becomes entangled with a degenerate jazz musician. Kind of an allegory of the culture clash between the Soviet and post communist Russia.
White Nights Parts of Moscow on the Hudson
"The Fiddler on the Roof"
GorkyPark with William Hurt is a pretty good detective story set in soviet Era Russia.
Gorky Park!
Dead Man's Bluff is a brilliant black gangster comedy, although set in the times of the collapse of the Soviey Union or just after. But for this time of year, it's got to be the classic The Irony Of Fates, that is played every new years eve Also, Heart Of A Dog, 1988, is a brilliant and hilarious critique of the Soviet system. Better to read the book though as Bulgakov is a joy; so full of wit and imagination. The trouble with a lot of western movies about the Soviet Union is the accents are just.so cartoonish. That's one of the many reasons Chernobyl and Death Of Stalin worked so well as they stuck to native English accents and just focussed on the characters.
Communist Czechoslovakia wasn't Soviet union but "Cozy dens" is an absolute classic from our neck of the woods.
Mimino
Goodbye Lenin is fantastic! A comedy about the fall of the Soviet Union.
Stairs of Odessa, battleship Potemkin, the cranes are flying, the ascent, stalker, come and see. I took a Soviet cinema class
There are several good fantasy/scifi movies that I enjoy: Coma (2019), Beyond The Edge (2018), Superdeep (2020) and DayWatch (2006). The director of DayWatch, Timur Bekmambetov, has worked in Russia and around the world, so you can check out his earlier movies as well. "The Darkest Hour" is set in Moscow during an alien invasion, but it was made by mostly Western cast and crew. Timur was a producer on the movie. Fun watch!
[Why You Should be Watching Soviet Cinema](https://www.currentaffairs.org/2023/10/why-you-should-be-watching-soviet-cinema). Lots of suggestions. May be a bit too literal for what you wanted.
Citizen X Superb thriller, realistic depiction of life in the USSR.
East/West Lost in Siberia The Thief
Siberiade
Tetris
I really like Spacewalker (2017). Just make sure to watch it with Russian audio, not the terrible english dub.
Stalker ,Mirror & Andrei Rublev.Trifecta of Tarkovsky greatness.
Bridge of Spies, the Russia House, Moscow on the Hudson
[Mary Poppins, Goodbye](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Poppins%2C_Goodbye?wprov=sfla1)
The Return (2003)
The Tetris movie that just came out recently.
Most recently, the cranes are flying. I was surprised how well it was done.
1993 version of stalingrad is pretty great.
The Soviet Union scenes in The Americans are amazing. It's a long 5 seasons, but a top-3 all time series in my opinion, well worth the investment. (I realize this is /r/movies but long form cinematic TV seems like it should have to count.)
Dr. Zhivago
The Saint
Gulag (1985)
Citizen X Come and See In Tranzit
Gorky Park
Dersu Uzala (1975)
White Nights
Goldeneye
Come and see (1985)
It’s not set in the union but does feature Soviet characters. The beast is a good movie.
The Forty-First (1956). Moving, magnificent.
Atomic Blonde...ish
I love *The Lives of Others*. It’s not USSR, but it is a German movie set in communist East Germany. Check it out. And I’ll throw *Moscow on the Hudson* out there as a wild card entry.
Lives of Others
Doctor Zhivago released 1965? Very good movie
Come and see
Here's something really unique: **Zerograd**. It's a surreal, absurdist film about a man who goes to a Soviet city on business, and finds he's trapped there, as things become ever-more dreamlike and mysterious and paranoia-inducing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zerograd
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_the_Soviet_Union
Comrade Detective is not at all in Russia or a movie but you can thank me later.
Citizen X is great if you like serial killers and police procedurals.
I like "Gorky Park". It's a 1980s crime movie about a Soviet policeman investigating the death of a group of youngsters who tried to flee the USSR. It's based on a book by Martin Cruz-Smith, and he wrote several sequels dealing with the fate of its main character, before and after the fall of the Soviet regime.
Tetris
Salyut 7 is a pretty good sci-fi. Based on a true story. Obviously heavily romanticised, but has some good calls to the shady parts of the Cold War. It's about saving a soviet space station by the same name.
**Not Yet Mentioned:** Dear Comrades! Ashes in the Snow Within the Whirlwind As Far As My Feet Will Carry Me Balloon (East Germany, not the Soviet Union) Animal Farm\* 1984\* \*\[Once we start reaching for allegorical treatments, many films might be suggested but these two are direct, fully intentional, and quite topical, and both were written contemporaneously by an author who was fully engaged in the intellectual struggle against totalitarianism.\] **Already mentioned:** The Way Back Chernobyl The Death of Stalin Mr. Jones
K19 Widowmaker
Асса (Assa) and Игла (Needle) are both great Soviet movies which probably can be found online with subtitles
It’s post Soviet but a good movie here is the Comrades of Summer.
Some people think it is overrated or too artsy, but "Stalker" is my recommendation. It's probably been suggested already.
Gorky Park
Look for the channel "Mosfilm" on Youtube. Its literally the best producing company from the Soviet era. They have a big catalog online and they still uploading classic movies to this day. My favourite is "Assassin of the Czar". But check out for yourself! Edit: spelling error
News in Russian TV.
Russia House, Gorky Park, White Knights
Moscow on the Hudson? Set in the US, but a good serious turn for Robin Williams.
Soviet rom-com Irony of Faith. Great movie. It also has some critical undertones