In the Face of Crime

This was an amazing drama. It was, of course, a German production, but its subject was the strange ethos of the Eastern European and Russian criminal elements that have apparently immigrated to the boom-town of the unified Berlin and their less than savory interaction with Berlin law enforcement and commercial enterprise. The writing, music and acting were superb.

Here we have a handful of excellent stories in one well-edited film. It appears to be a real time German police drama which it is, but it is also delves into a multitude of characters and their development as the film progresses - excellent writing. It is also a family drama and traditional values traverse the entire film with Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, German, and a few others illustrated, a real-time experience inside the Russian organized crime syndicate watching how they operate and compete against each other, a frightening look at the recruitment of and methods used by sex traffickers, pimps, and white slavers, and finally a beautiful thread of true love woven throughout that holds it all together. Its hard to say which part is better because they are all great and together they make this film unique in its entertainment value. The acting is great, subtitles accurate and easy to read, and it has plenty of action. If you like a multifaceted perfectly encapsulated film in 10 interlaced episodes, this is as good as it gets.

Those beginning to find that TV crime thrillers and police procedurals---even those from the School of Scandinavian Noir---are becoming increasingly hackneyed, with situations and their resolution seen many times before, will be delighted with the originality and energy of this German series. Set mostly in the Berlin underworld and fascinating in its interplay of cultures---immigrant Eastern European Jews, Russians, Ukrainians, and Rumanians, all seeking their place in the new Germany through fair means or foul---the series is also striking in its novel take on conventional crime, its sometimes intriguing treatment of both love and sex, its frequent dramatic turns which surprise, and its occasional flashes of outrageous humor. Not perfect, but fresh and very entertaining.

Absolutely the best in German/Russian mafioso -- people in the east of Europe dealing with death defying economic stressors. Outside of Germany there are Latvian and Ukranian elements of the missing safety net. Every character is multi-faceted, not strictly good or bad. Well, one really bad guy. Very human, fallible, likable characters. Loved this.

Could and should have been much better:The idea and story line are good and topical.Cross border crime is prevalent nowadays. The acting was very good, and one can empathize with the characters. Unfortunately the writing was not up to par with the subject matter.The writing is rather sloppy and some very preposterous/unlikely events are portrayed. On top of that, while this story should be suspenseful up to the end, the opening montage at the beginning of each episode gave away the denouement of the story. It depleted the series of much suspense. I won't go into further detail, lest it might spoil the the pleasure of future viewers.

Excellent german tv series.

This is a great gritty series. They use colloquial slang and accents unique to Berlin so if you're learning German, pay close attention.

Very goog.

Excellent movie