First saw this movie in its first screening, and being just a kid, I cried with all my heart. 17 years later I managed to remember the title, rediscover the the movie and watch it again. To be honest, I actually had to open an IMDb account just to give this movie 10 stars. The acting is just superb. The story is truly heartbreaking but manages to radiate the little boys tenderness in a way you will never forget. The parallels are endless. The scene where the little boy follows the prison truck will always remain in my heart. Just watching this masterpiece changed me forever and I think that only a Russian director and cast could create such a masterpiece. Only people who lived the Stalin era would have the dare to give us such a story. If you have to see one film this year, well.... this is it.

Chukhrai's The Thief (1997) has superficially a lot in common with the films of the Soviet thaw period. It follows the impressionable childhood of a young boy, left fatherless by the war, as he and his mother adjust to living with a new father figure. However, thematically it shares much more with the dark (much of the film actually takes place in darkness or near-darkness), violent, and morally ambiguous films of the late- and post-Soviet eras. The Thief is almost the anti-"Moscow does not believe in tears", depicting a lonely single mother who finds in a charming stranger not a perfect mate and father figure, but an aggressive and morally baseless opportunist who, upon a test of faith, reveals none of the love or loyalty of which he seemed to be capable. Moral uncertainty is a constant theme; despite the 1940s setting, The Thief has all of the loss, disappointment, and listlessness of the postwar films, but none of the hope and ideological faith. The story poses many questions – whether immorality is acceptable in the preservation of a family, whether a poor father figure is better than none, whether violence is preferable to weakness – and answers none of them. Even a murder at the end that might have been redemptive or cathartic is emotionally blank: the main character bleakly narrates, "nothing existed, nothing, nothing, nothing." However, The Thief has little of the crushing psychological brutality of post-war cinema – the film is never dull or trudging, and even contains some of the excitement and humor of western crime films. The film really offers nothing in terms of morality or judgment. Chukhrai does not even indulge in the classic trope of the protective mother and the abusive father. We are faced instead with a 1990s story in a 1940s setting: a boy lives his formative years in an amoral world, loving those he is with, and ending up with nothing but loneliness and ambiguity.

This is one of my favorite films. Every time I see it, it touches me deeply and I can't get it out of my mind for a day or two. It helps me put my life into perspective and revisit the basic assumptions by which I live. Since the plot has been summarized by many other reviewers, I'll just share my own perception of the film.While there is an important political and historic component to it, the movie is, in my opinion, about relationships: love and fatherhood. Despite the sadness, the story is inspiring in a way, as it reminds the viewer of the power (in this case - destructive) of the true love. It would make you cherish the love that you are lucky to have, or will make you want to seek one.The film also shows the role that a father plays in a boy's life, in becoming a man, and the faithfulness and commitment that are the platform of such relationship. Again, the tragedy of the fake, non-committed fatherhood helps put things into perspective for the rest of us.I disagree with other reviewers that seem to think that this is a film primarily about Stalinist Russia. When you see a story that introduces you to a new, unfamiliar environment, you tend to pay attention more to the environment than to the story. If "Romeo and Juliette" was filmed on Mars, you'd keep staring at the Martian landscapes instead of the actors. Keep in mind that this movie was intended primarily for consumption by Russians, who are generally aware of how their country looked back then. By focusing purely on the landscape (toasts to Stalin, communal apartments, ruined post-war country) you'll miss the play.

I followed up Kolja with another film about a young boy; one that has a sad ending also, but for a different reason.Writer/Director Pavel Chukhraj gives us a stark picture of Russia after the war. A place of poverty and desperation. Into that picture comes Tolyan (Vladimir Mashkov), ostensibly a soldier, and maybe he was at one time, but now a thief.He steals to survive, whether it is possessions he can sell at the market, or the hearts of a woman (Yekaterina Rednikova) and her young son (Misha Philipchuk), who misses his father.He is clever, that Tolyan; unfortunately it catches up with him, and then his true colors come out. Having lost everyone that meant anything to him, and now, Tolyan, the young boy responds in a fashion that is predictable, but heartbreaking.It is stark and methodical, but this Oscar-nominated film is worth watch more than once.