"I'm smiling, but I am very (...) furious"

Rating: 9/10 (10 March 2018)

A genuinely brilliant satire centered around the background of Stalin's death and the struggle for power that follows (during and) after it.
The character portrayal is one of the many details that makes the movie extraordinary. Their introduction adds a hint of poetry to the comedy and by far the one that stands out is Marshal Zhukov's - no detail of his first appearance was left unpolished: from the scar on his face which highlights his harshness to the movement of the medals on his suit which draw the scales of his portrayal into ridicule.
These portraits of the people in Stalin's life (and death) build up a chain of metaphors for the traits of his regime and its consequences: from the blind followers who abide by his every word, to the fickle ones, ready at all times to compromise in order to grab hold of his power; and from the idealists (of both sides) to the moralists who compromise for personal benefits.
Apart from its' undeniable humour, the movie also manages to integrate scenes that illustrate the horror of this time in history without belittleling any aspect it.