I Wanted to See Angels (1992)
(Я хотела увидить ангелов)
from love to death is an instant

"In the criminal world where they live by the rules of wolves, there is an unwritten rule: if you don't kill them, they will kill you. Former champion wrestler Bob finds himself in such a situation, working now as hired guard for Saratov 'businessman' Monsoor. On the orders of his boss he should, by force, retrieve a big debt from a former flunky in the capital or else kill him. But life has prepared a surprise for Bob... (shortened to remove spoiler)"

This must be one of the rarest Russian films. The image to the right shows the cover to the video release, yet this is unobtainable either in Russia or elsewhere. Neither does the film appear anywhere on film download sites, and almost no information can be found. But this is one of the most striking and haunting films you will ever see. Few of the characters appear sympathetic - Bob is a hired thug, Nat is a perfidious user, the brother, the doctor, all ready to betray - yet somehow a sympathy is felt for the hapless Bob, far from home, in a city that shows his provincial thuggery to be lacking. His inability to match the ruthless world of the capital is his downfall. Surreal imagery, soft focus and a touching portrayal of a scarred childhood contribute to the unique atmosphere. And this is greatly enhanced by the stunning soundtrack by Mongol Shuudan, sadly not available on record. Clip of 'Dalnyaya Doroga' in members section.

Directed by Sergei Bodrov (Senior), Written by Sergei Bodrov and Carolyn Cavallero
Starring Alexei Baranov, Liya Akhedzhakova, Natalia Ginko, Alexei Zharkov

You can now download from e-mule: I Wanted to See Angels (VHS rip)
Note: This is a rip made by Music in Russia from a VHS of a TV broadcast. The quality is reasonable, but don't expect DVD quality. However, we know of no other sources. Also, we are probably the only e-mule source for this file at the moment, but we are on-line virtually 24 hours. If you can't locate the file try later - we won't be off-line for long. The Mongol Shuudan clip is from this file, so will show you the quality (see above).