Name: Ushyol i ne vernulsya
Genre: Crime
Duration: 1 h 45 min
Rating: 6.6
Cast: Georgiy Martynyuk, Leonid Kanevskiy, Elza Lezhdey

Departed and Never Returned is - by and large - a run-of-the-mill episode of ZnaToKi, a fairly standard procedural dealing with financial crime. Even so, the film has a few saving graces that set it apart from truly forgettable installments like Red-Handed or At Any Cost.

The film's greatest strength lies in Aleksandr Mikhailov's character. He is perfectly aware that he is involved in a major crime, and there is no mystery for the audience either: the plot is structured in such a way that the moment Mikhailov appears on screen, you know he is up to no good. Yet, the script avoids turning him into a cartoonish embezzler. Instead, we see a sharp, level-headed man with his own - albeit warped - moral code and a certain sense of nobility. What's more, he treats the investigator as a worthy adversary. Their dynamic is a battle of wits, refreshingly free of cheap histrionics or primitive intimidation tactics.

There is a second intriguing element here, one much rarer for the franchise. The traditionally strict, black-and-white morality of ZnaToKi takes on subtle shades of grey. Znamensky shows that he is willing to strike a compromise with the accused for the greater good and to crack the case. Furthermore, his behavior in the interrogation scene involving the dummy money bundles is quite unusual: he openly laughs at the suspect, even though it offers no tactical advantage to the investigation - he simply seems to enjoy watching the criminal's bewilderment. It may sound trivial, but considering that the entire series was closely monitored by police authorities and designed as a squeaky-clean showcase for Soviet law enforcement, even such a minor departure from perfection feels like a bold creative choice. The investigator briefly sheds his role as an infallible mouthpiece of justice to become a consummate professional who is still very much human.

Aside from these bright spots, however, the film remains rigidly confined by its television format. It palpably suffers from its shorter runtime: it is a single-episode story rather than a two- or three-part arc like many other entries in the series. Because of this, the plot moves in a very linear fashion, devoid of any real mystery; the audience is shown the gist of the scheme (even if not explicitly told) long before the detectives piece it together. The dialogue carries a slight stagey quality - a flaw, alas, typical of the franchise as a whole. And, with the notable exception mentioned above, the good guys remain completely static and flawless; they experience no character growth, and the events of the story leave no emotional mark on them.

Ultimately, Departed and Never Returned is a very typical product of its era, somewhat constrained by its procedural format. Yet, the presence of a smart, morally complex antagonist and a refreshing take on Znamensky's character keep it compelling. It is a solid, well-crafted piece of storytelling whose shortcomings are easy to forgive.

7 out of 10.

Russian cinema is distinguished by its epic scale, philosophical depth, and innovative visual language. It often explores history, ideology, and the human psyche, with a tradition of psychological realism and artistic experimentation. Russian cinema contributed revolutionary theories of editing and later a spiritual approach to film language. It remains known for combining formal experimentation with profound explorations of endurance and belief.

Nikolay Grinko, Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, and Anatoliy Solonitsyn in Stalker (1979)

The crime genre features criminal activities, investigations, law enforcement, crimes, and the pursuit of justice. Crime stories often revolve around the planning, execution, and consequences of criminal acts, as well as the efforts to solve and prevent such acts. They explore various aspects of criminal behavior, motives, and the moral dilemmas faced by both perpetrators and those seeking to uphold the law.

James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in The Sopranos (1999)

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Ushyol i ne vernulsya

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