*** Some Spoilers ***I guess one thing you have to remember is when this movie was done. It was a weird time as the country was going through changes and this film was that: different. It's not that it's the best movie ever made, or even a finer one, but what is important is not what it was, but what it wasn't: and that is it was not like all other soviet movie to date. It was commenting on the reality in a different way and to some degree was far more open than movies of the past. Case and point, when bananan argues with a cop about his earing. It was an argument of "I want" vs the old and tried soviet "Not Allowed". The Victor Tsoy song, in the end, asking for change, was again commenting on the same theme, that status quo is just not possible any more. Even the two lovers: the old vs new somehow relate to the theme. The plot itself is very shakespearean: older man, younger woman... younger man... younger woman falls in love with younger man... older man kills younger man... younger woman kills older man. It's really simple but yet it doesn't truly explain why people like this film. Overall, I think it became popular because it came at the right time, rather than anything else. I think a person, even who is not from soviet union can easily enjoy the film. I give it a 6 out of 10.

The face of Russia as it was in the 80's. The image of the young generation through the face of gloomy regime. Love story of 2 young people is stuck between the old norms of Soviet union and the new rising power of organized mafia, two ingredients which will affect the collapse of the 70 years socialist power. The young generation demand changes, and immediately but it's being suffocated by both sides of the old order, and the movie ends with legendary Viktor Tsoi's song "Changes" which became an anthem after Tsoi's tragic death in a car accident. A Parallel story in the movie is the murder of Russia's emperor on 12th March of 1801 which is probably a metaphor of constant corruption in Russia.

"Assa" gained a cult following in Russia upon its initial release, and I suppose that it still can be considered so. The movie is not very easy to get into. It's long, very slow-paced, and quite dark in terms of actual colors as well as atmosphere. Artistically, it has some good things going for it including the soundtrack, the actors' performances and some arty injections. I still don't think that the movie is as great as some people paint it out to be, although, one could probably argue that it, in a way, strided to fill a gap, one way or the other, for the young, subculture-oriented Russian 80's generation. Using the Soloviev connection, I'll say that if "Chernaya roza - emblema pechali..." was an, inverted, absurdistic take on later-period Soviet life, then "Assa" portrays a tragic clash between idealistic innocence and harsh Soviet reality.

"Assa" would have made a better vehicle for Stallone, but considering the taste of the average Soviet moviegoer........I guess my real objection to movies like this is that they waste the time and talent and money that could be spent making better movies or feeding the poor.