Directed by Dominik Graf, this German TV series is notable for its harsh depiction of Berlin's Russian immigrant population, seen here as transforming the capital into a mini–crime empire. Fighting the mobsters is police officer Marek Gorsky (Max Riemelt), a son of Russian Jewish immigrants, who is loathed by the Russian community and barely tolerated by his professional colleagues. But Marek also has his own scores to settle—10 years earlier, his older brother was gunned down by Russian gangsters. Complicating matters is Marek's infatuation with Jelena (Alina Levshin), a Russian émigré forced into prostitution. By U.S. standards, In the Face of Crime is guilty of outrageously politically incorrect material, especially the broad stereotyping of Russians as crude, violent, and amoral. But even if one were to overlook the heavy-handed ethnic caricatures, little here warrants special attention: the stories are predictable, the direction sluggish, the violence dull, and the acting seesaws between excessive hamming and timid non-performances. Compiling all 10 episodes from 2010, this is not a necessary purchase. (P. Hall)
In the Face of Crime
MHz, 4 discs, 490 min., in German w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $39.95 February 9, 2015
In the Face of Crime
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