The cult movie for every true Russian intellectual. Everything is brilliant, especially acting: it's beyond any praise. The movie, as the book, is full of symbols: my favorite one is the brightest symbol of Razrukha (colloquial Russian word for "devastation", often signifies the period of lifestyle chaos after the 1918-20 Civil War) -- the wide-opened dirty door in the bricky wall squeaking in the snowy wind and the pitch-black hole of the doorway behind it.

Now the film is released on DVD with fully restored image and the 5.1 sound, there are well-translated English subtitles too, though some obscene words of Sharikov were replaced by the more mild versions in the translation. I don't know is that DVD available abroad but if you'll find it grab it immediately, it's really worthy of watching.

And, in conclusion, a fact: about the 50% of Russians today, mostly youth, can be identified as Sharikovs in a considerable degree. It's the post-Soviet effect: Soviet people appeared to be wholly unprepared for the informational attack of the Western civilization, TV-producers and movie makers have made the entertainment industry and the mass media amazingly aggressive, soulless and thoughtless so that it abetted the darkest instincts of every Russian. Even among the Internet users every third one uses the obscene language in forums and chats because it's amazingly common in colloquial speech.

(the review contains no spoilers to the actual plot, but I am discussing a few lines from the movie, which while have 0 impact on the plot, but may not be appreciated by everyone).

I think other reviewers have captured the sense of this movie. Amazing story (obviously),amazing acting and dialogue. Great sets and atmosphere, but I wanted to mention something else...

After living in the USA for 20+ years, something made me wonder. The main point of the movie is to critique ussr/communism and the movie done so with implacable detail. One thing that made me wonder is that professor was very serious when he mentioned how they removed rug from main entrance, stole galoshes and such. It's either such veiled acting or the professor is truly ignorant (in this case, it was either done with the sarcasm or not, I think the result in the same). I completely agree with the communism flaws and such (not to go off tangent),but one thing stands out. When 90% of the country is hungry and can't afford to feed/clothes or keep themselves warm, and he comments how he has light goes out twice a day now versus twice before in 20 years, somehow his problems are just not as important to me.

Nevertheless, movie is brilliant in every way.

Superb modern parable from a seditious Russian novel of 1925 by Mikhail Bulgakov that didn't see the light of day until the 1980s. This is cleverly photographed in sepia hues alongside some brilliantly restored and copied archive-footage, but at the same time it feels very contemporary and accessible with great definition close up, haunting polyphonic choral music, excellent comic acting, so it's got pretty much everything right. The Amazon sleeve art was a little off-putting looking rather cheap and amateur which it is neither - quite the opposite - it's clearly lavishly produced, ironically by Leninfilm. Ask anyone in eastern Europe, they've seen this film, but may not have heard of the book of its long history.

The story is a biting satire of Soviet communism and even when it was released it would have packed a punch, in fact it was surely art like this and other cultural dissent, not Ronald Reagan and Gorby that dismissed the regime, just a year later.

The plot involves a slightly uncouth mongrel dog but ever so charming that undergoes an experiment that the Bolshevik-hating professor didn't bargain for.... There's a touch of horror, layer upon layer of contemporaneous & still relevant cultural/political references, but above all it takes the prize for being all this but still extremely funny, and warm and humane. A cracker.