I am not sure why some of the reviewers gave it 1 star and were bashing it. I think they and I were watching two different movies. Some points to make: 1. The movie is based on a historical event documented in Russian archives. So, there goes a "fairy tale" title of one of the reviews. 2. Even if a movie tries to adhere to known facts, some "artistic" freedom is given so it is entertaining. In my opinion, it was very well balanced and was enjoyable to watch. 3. It shows shortcomings of a centrally managed economy (top down) where bureaucrats ALWAYS stand in the way of progress and human nature ALWAYS finds a way to work around it.

I enjoyed this movie and if you give it a chance, you will too.

How so one might ask? Just because something is entertaining, which in a way this was, if its greater purpose is as social programming then it's artistic value plummets to zero, and this is just the latest in a string of films just like this, illusions that Stalin wasn't just as evil as Hitler and just as responsible for starting the Second World War that killed tens of millions of his citizens (that, incidentally, in the alternate universe of this film genre, the CCCP won the war single-handedly, rather than the truth that they would have starved and froze to death clutching or drive weapons with no ammunition).

These films today serve to puff up patriotic pride as a balm for the reality that the majority of Russians live at a lower economic level that they did during the Soviet Union, while a very few intelligence officers or frontmen for them got filthy rich from cheap, no-bid privatisation deals, just like Putin. The other reason these films are dangerous are their intentions to make Russians feel like that Russia herself is surrounded by enemies, etc., a enforced paranoia that has been used as a tool of manipulation since the time of the Czars. I could go on, but you get the picture, so don't get this one.

The obsession with WWII in Russia and the stupendous quantities of war films and tv series that are in constant production, as if pumped out by some giant WWII factory in the Urals, has led to a trend of turning WWII narratives into fairy tales. The truth is not the object. At least, not in the sense of being factual. The 'truth' these films care about is that of Russian greatness, of Russian ingenuity, of Russian resilience and spirit of defiance, of Russian eternal role of defending herself, and the rest of the world from evil. In pursuit of depicting these truths, facts are not allowed to stand in the way. Narratives in these films seem as though they come from some ancient book of myths, and not from history books. Alas, one can only endure this kind f manipulation for so long. I am fed up with Russian myths. And frankly, I am beginning to wonder how many people in Russia are fed up, too.