Siberian Education — Strong moody Russian tale of woe and respect — 8*/10

• Scenario: Incredible tale, told in a slow but very powerful way, with many interesting turns and unusual choices. Superb mood, dramatic, poignant and riveting, if you go beyond the first quarter that is. Some synopsis present this as a gangster's tale, which is also an alternative English title for the production, but it has nothing to do with what such a spin brings to mind. On the contrary, it's almost a social or anthropological study. Excellent.
• Dialogs: Very strong.
• Characters: A bit too simple. The boys are even drawn line for line from the overused archetypes we see in every boy's club.
• Actors: Great work on the part of everyone. Cast members include John Malkovich, Peter Stormare and Eleanor Tomlinson.
• Photography: Excellent visuals.
• Sound: Solid music and score, but there was a few places where the ADR, or voice over, was poorly made. Also, the fact that the actors are speaking English with a Russian accent is annoying and it takes a long time for it to stop being bothersome.
• Special effects: None.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1697064/
• Who is it for? Those looking for a different or moody drama.