''The State Counseller'' (russian: Статский советник, Statskiy sovetnik) is a 2005 Russian
historical thriller film
Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...
, an adaptation of
Boris Akunin
Boris Akunin (russian: Борис Акунин) is the pen name of Grigori Chkhartishvili (russian: Григорий Шалвович Чхартишвили, Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili; ka, გრიგორი ჩხარტიშვ ...
's
novel of the same name featuring detective
Erast Fandorin
Erast Petrovich Fandorin (russian: Эраст Петрович Фандорин) is a fictional 19th-century Russian detective and the hero of a series of Russian historical detective novels by Boris Akunin.
The first Fandorin novel (''The Winte ...
. Directed by
Filipp Yankovsky
Filipp Olegovich Yankovsky (russian: Фили́пп Оле́гович Янко́вский) is a Russian actor and film director. He was born on October 10, 1968, to actor Oleg Yankovsky.
Life and career
Filipp Yankovsky was born October 10, 19 ...
, it was one of the most expensive films ever made in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
.
A revolutionary organisation is planning to assassinate the
Governor of Moscow as the first step to overthrowing the
Tsarist
Tsarist autocracy (russian: царское самодержавие, transcr. ''tsarskoye samoderzhaviye''), also called Tsarism, was a form of autocracy (later absolute monarchy) specific to the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states ...
state. Detective Erast Fandorin attempts to counter them, but his efforts are hindered by his dealings with Prince Pozharsky.
The film's promotional title in Russian uses the erroneous spelling Статский совѣтникъ which is neither modern Статский советник, nor pre-Revolutionary Статскій совѣтникъ.
Plot
The film is set in the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
at the turn of the 19th century.
The Petersburg-Moscow train stops at the Klin station, the last one before
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
. In the special car where under high security travels the minister of the tsarist government – Adjutant-General Khrapov – a man appears who introduces himself as state councilor
Erast Fandorin
Erast Petrovich Fandorin (russian: Эраст Петрович Фандорин) is a fictional 19th-century Russian detective and the hero of a series of Russian historical detective novels by Boris Akunin.
The first Fandorin novel (''The Winte ...
, an official for special assignments to the Moscow governor-general responsible for Khrapov's security in Moscow. The arriving person presents his documents and because he matches the verbal portrait of Fandorin with which the guards are familiar, he is let in to see the general. Soon the general is found dead in the compartment and on the handle of a bloody blade there is a mark "BG" – the sign of the elusive terrorist "Combat Group" which wreaks terror in both capitals. The terrorist who impersonated Fandorin – head of the "BG" nicknamed Green – successfully disappears from the scene of the crime and settles in Moscow with three accomplices, Rakhmet, Emelya and Snegir, where the local revolutionary, Needle, helps them. Lack of involvement in the case by the real Fandorin is immediately apparent as soon as he meets with the general's guards: the terrorist resembled Fandorin only a little and was made up in order to enhance the similarities.
The murder of Khrapov was a "slap in the face” of the government, which means the inevitable dismissal of the Moscow Governor-General Dolgorutsky. Frustrated with everything that has happened, Dolgorutsky asks Fandorin, with whom he was always pleased, to do everything to find the general's killers quickly and on his own to earn the right to retire with dignity without being disgraced. Fandorin, famous for his deductive method, starts an investigation and the first clue comes from the terrorists themselves: from the circumstances of the case it is clear that the killers knew who provides the security of the general and had a description of Fandorin. Fandorin was appointed responsible for Khrapov's visit only the day before, and this was only known to the St. Petersburg Police Department and three employees of the Moscow gendarmerie. Obviously it was only this narrow circle of people who could have leaked the information.
Fandorin investigates and manages to detain one of the members of the group, Rakhmet, who was quickly removed from the investigation by the celebrated investigator, General Prince Pozharsky, who came specially from Petersburg with a nominal command. In the meantime, BG continues to operate, this time replenishing the party cash desk: the treasury coach has been robbed, security has been broken, and a huge amount of money has been stolen. Fandorin decides to find out who is passing information to BG by giving all suspects different information and checking how the terrorists react. The completely unexpected reaction of BG forces Fandorin to suspect even his own beloved for a moment, but he still finds the correct, albeit incredible, answer to his question. BG’s "source" is Prince Pozharsky himself.
Pozharsky organizes an operation to seize the Combat Group, planning a shootout in which Fandorin will perish in an "unbelievable accident." But Fandorin remains alive thanks to his dexterity; Snegir and Emelya perish; and only Green remains of the group, who continues to be helped by Needle who fell in love with him.
In a private conversation Pozharsky admits that Fandorin's conclusions are correct: the general did supply information to BG initially to use terrorists to get rid of the rivals' and to frighten officials, and then to act as the sole savior of the state that destroyed the elusive group and receive power and privilege for it. Now, after the provoked retirement of Dolgorutsky, the Moscow Governor-General will become the Grand Duke Simeon, the patron of Pozharsky, and Pozharsky himself will rise to the rank of a Moscow Chief Policeman. Fandorin can not openly speak out against Pozharsky: they just would not believe him. Pozharsky suggests that Fandorin become an ally, or simply "step aside and remain silent". Fandorin chooses the latter, because unlike Pozharsky, he knows that Green had already guessed about the betrayal of his assistant, Julie Renard, through whom Pozharsky slipped the group information about the objects of the terrorist attacks, and Green forced Julie to make an appointment with Pozharsky. As a result, Pozharsky goes on the call of Julie to destroy Green and gain the laurels of the sole winner of the Combat Group, and Fandorin merely tells him in a whisper: "Evil devours itself." And thus it indeed happens: Pozharsky kills Green and Julie, but he himself also dies with Needle who sabotaged him and herself, before death to whom he refers by real name – Countess Dobrinskaya.
The new governor-general offers Fandorin the post of chief policeman and his patronage. At first Fandorin brusquely refuses, but after exhortations of the former governor-general's old servant, he returns to Simeon's office and gives his consent.
Cast
*
Oleg Menshikov
Oleg Evgenyevich Menshikov, PAR (russian: Оле́г Евге́ньевич Ме́ньшиков, link=no; born 8 November 1960) is a Russian actor, theatre director and occasional singer. He is the current artistic director of the Yermolova Thea ...
as ''
Erast Fandorin
Erast Petrovich Fandorin (russian: Эраст Петрович Фандорин) is a fictional 19th-century Russian detective and the hero of a series of Russian historical detective novels by Boris Akunin.
The first Fandorin novel (''The Winte ...
''
*
Nikita Mikhalkov
Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov (russian: Никита Сергеевич Михалков; born 21 October 1945) is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union. Mikhalkov is a three-time laureate of the ...
as ''Prince Pozharsky''
*
Konstantin Khabensky
Konstantin Yurievich Khabensky, PAR (russian: link=no, Константин Юрьевич Хабенский; born 11 January 1972) is a Russian actor of stage and film, director and philanthropist.
From 1997 he was part of the Saint Petersbur ...
as ''Green''
*
Igor Yasulovich
Igor Nikolayevich Yasulovich (russian: Игорь Николаевич Ясулович; born 24 September 1941) is a Soviet and Russian film and theater actor, film director and pedagogue.
Biography
Yasulovich was born in the village of Reinsfe ...
as ''Aronzon the chemist''
*
Vladimir Mashkov
Vladimir Lvovich Mashkov ( Russian: Владимир Львович Машков; born 27 November 1963) is a Soviet and Russian actor and director of cinema, known to Western audiences for his work in the 2001 film '' Behind Enemy Lines'' and 2 ...
as ''Tikhon Bogoyavlenskii''
* Emilia Spivak as ''Esfir''
*
Oksana Fandera as ''Countess Olga Alekseevna Dobrinskaya terrorist "Needle"''
*
Yuri Kolokolnikov
Yuri Andreyevich Kolokolnikov (russian: Юрий Андреевич Колокольников; born 15 December 1980) is a Russian stage and film actor. In the West, Kolokolnikov is best known for his performance as Styr in the television series ...
as ''Lieutenant Smolyaninov''
*
Oleksiy Gorbunov
Oleksiy Serhiyovych Horbunov ( uk, Олексій Сергійович Горбунов; born on 29 October 1961) is a Ukrainian film, television and stage actor. He has been named an Honored Artist of Ukraine (1991) and a People's Artist of Ukr ...
as ''security agent "Gvidon" Nikolai I. Seleznev, terrorist "Rakhmet"''
*
Fyodor Bondarchuk
Fyodor Sergeyevich Bondarchuk (russian: link=no, Фёдор Сергеевич Бондарчук ; born 9 May 1967) is a Russian film director, actor, TV and film producer, clipmaker, TV host, founder of production company Art Pictures Studio. ...
as ''Colonel Pyotr Ivanovich Burchinsky''
*
Oleg Tabakov
Oleg Pavlovich Tabakov (russian: Олег Павлович Табаков; 17 August 1935 – 12 March 2018) was a Soviet and Russian actor and the Artistic Director of the Moscow Art Theatre. People's Artist of the USSR (1988).
Biography
Tabakov ...
as ''Prince Vladimir Andreevich Dolgorutsky Moscow Governor-General''
*
Maria Mironova as ''Julie Renard''
*Alexander Strizhenov as ''prince Simeon Alexandrovich''
*Pavel Belozerov as ''engineer Larionov agent of the secret police and "combat group"''
*Andrei Lebedev as ''doctor
*
Filipp Yankovsky
Filipp Olegovich Yankovsky (russian: Фили́пп Оле́гович Янко́вский) is a Russian actor and film director. He was born on October 10, 1968, to actor Oleg Yankovsky.
Life and career
Filipp Yankovsky was born October 10, 19 ...
as ''drunk hussar in the salon of Julie''
*
Rostislav Yankovsky as ''Minister Ivan Fedorovich Khrapov Adjutant-General''
*Olga Yurasova as ''Masonic revolutionary''
*Ekaterina Vulichenko as ''maid''
*Vladimir Krasnov as ''valet Prince Dolgorutsky Frol Vedishchev''
*Masami Ogava as ''Masa, Fandorin's Japanese manservant''
*Vladimir Zaitsev as ''captain von Seydlitz chief security officer Khrapova''
*
Igor Yasulovich
Igor Nikolayevich Yasulovich (russian: Игорь Николаевич Ясулович; born 24 September 1941) is a Soviet and Russian film and theater actor, film director and pedagogue.
Biography
Yasulovich was born in the village of Reinsfe ...
as ''chemist Aronzon''
Awards
*
Golden Eagle Award
**Best Male Actor (Nikita Mikhalkov)
**Best Supporting Actor (Konstantin Khabensky)
*
Nika Award
The Nika Award (sometimes styled NIKA Award) is the main annual national film award in Russia, presented by the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Science, and seen as the national equivalent of the Oscars.
History
The award was established i ...
**Best Art Design (Vladimir Aronin)
*
Kinotavr
Kinotavr (russian: Кинотавр), also known as the Sochi Open Russian Film Festival is an open film festival held in the resort city of Sochi, Russia annually in June since 1991, until it was cancelled in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasi ...
**Best Male Actor (Nikita Mikhalkov)
Reception
Reception of The State Counsellor in Russian media was overwhelmingly positive. According to review aggregator Kritikanstvo, it received no negative reviews and was rated 9 out of 10 on average.
Рецензии на фильм Статский советник (2005), отзывы
/ref>
References
External links
*
Официальный сайт
Films based on works by Boris Akunin
2005 films
Russian thriller drama films
2000s Russian-language films
Films set in the 1890s
2000s thriller films
Films directed by Filipp Yankovsky
Films about the Russian Empire
{{Filipp Yankovsky