There's only one reason I don't give 10 to this movie...

Rating: 8/10 (24 July 2015)

IT'S NOT THE BOOK people !! It's not the book ?!!
I won't put any spoilers here folks, but I just have one thing to say. Read the book first.
The movie is excellent, very enjoyable overall with incredible performances BUT IT'S NOT THE BOOk ! And by this I mean I still cannot believe they took out the greatest thing about the story ! The bit in the book that was like a punch in the stomach when we find the truth about the child 44 killer ! The best twist in the story is totally absent from this screenplay and this means that the psychopath in the movie version has no motive at all to do what he does. His reasons are presented in such a generic manner at the end that it almost destroys the entire movie and makes the killer character feel totally like a character that does not belong to this story after all. After the spectators spend two hours glued to all that is happening in the story at the end , the killer bit is totally irrelevant to the story !!
Contrary to what happens in the book, where the killer is very well rooted in all the plot which connects the characters in unique ways. Not on the movie ! What ?! Why ?! Who thought that taking out the best twist in the book which is actually what gives meaning to the original story, a good idea ?!
Why bother buying the rights to a book with such a great story and then remove all that was supposed to be the central twist of the mystery out of the screenplay ?! Somebody explain this to me because I'm absolutely puzzled here !
So yet again people. READ THE BOOk FIRST ! Trust me , it won't ruin the movie for you because the writers in the movie took out the most important bits which are fundamental to the plot in the original story. The book also goes much in-depth into the characters past, even the secondary characters have a life of their own and everything feels like a thriller version of The Shadow of the Wind , if you know and loved the type of characters in that book, you'll find the same feel when you read the original Child 44 novel which is brilliant.
The book is not the novel in so many aspects that it hurts. I got suspicious right at the start when I noticed that the structure didn't seemed to follow the most important bits in the novel and that really made me wonder what would happen after that regarding the characters. For example in the movie Vassilli is almost a cardboard villain, while in the novel the reader even has some empathy with him at many points of the story. And the killer is even a much deeper character than we see it in the movie. I need to shut up so I wont spoil a great book. Read the book first. The book has lots of parallel stories that are totally absent from the movie and which there's no reason for them not to be included.
The movie , on its own is actually very good, some of the best scenes from the more dramatic bits in the novel are there, but even on this the movie downplays and simplifies everything. Nervetheless it's a very entertaining movie, with a great cast and brilliant acting and lots of atmosphere. It feels a bit fragmented sometimes but that is because of what gave some of the characters a soul was mysteriously removed from the screenplay.
Perhaps the greatest mystery in the Child 44 movie version is why they did almost everything right except leaving out the great twist on the book regarding the killer mystery.
But i need to give it a 8 out of 10 nevertheless because it's a great drama set on Russia and even from an historical point of view deserves to be seen.
Just...read the book first. Please.