The meaning of Cu Mainile Curate is pretty obvious. As in many communist films, we have a noble, incorruptible hero (Mr. Roman), who, as a cop, tries to beat the evildoers. In this case: ruthless mobsters. They are tough competition. No wonder these cops sometimes use the same methods (terrorizing, shooting people) in order to get them. 'I want them alive… as much as possible.' It is obviously a politically motivated gangster flick. Of course there's a bend cop with a 'wrong history'. He just has to go. And of course tough cop Miclovan (played by director Sergiu Nicolaescu himself), who seems to enjoy beating up villains, teams up with our protagonist, as his violent but necessary counterpart.A lot of surprises in this film. In the first place: it looks AMAZING for a crime film, with its setting in prewar Bucarest. Beautiful cars, beautiful old buildings, beautiful suits. Unexpectedly great music (Richard Oschanitzky, who composed the score for 25 Rumanian films). Great scenes. The one with the empty factory and the table in the center. The heist with the tank. The chase scene in the outskirts. Secondly: the original story telling. There are actually a couple of stories intertwined, loosely build around this one noble cop, like a Rumanian mini The Wire.And I never expected this much violence. This is a ruthless crime flick. People getting shot is as common as it can get. In this way it sometimes reminds me of poliziotto films. It gives the film a sinister atmosphere. Shootouts are cool but execution kind of stuff is way too much, at least for me… I rate this 8/10.

only an exercise to present , in regime limits, a honest thriller. cops - good and bad, the perfect police officer, few communist references, game with regime as proof of independence, shootings, feelings, action and slices from Romanian society in las years of WW II. nothing new. but it remains almost seductive. for the generations for who Nicolaescu films was perfect drug. for the kids of today as alternative to video games. for the nostalgia of old men who remembers their youth. and for a vision about national past not really pink but almost idyllic. it is a good film. more good today, after death of Sergiu Nicolaescu because emotions -circle for his ash - are perfect key to discover the nice parts for each movie directed by him. in fact, it is only testimony. about a time. and about an image of past, not very correct - Oastea Domnului was a respectable Eastern Orthodox organization as minor argument.

From a strictly professional standpoint, this is the best movie ever made by Sergiu Nicolaescu. It's done with a pretty good narrative feeling, a clever insight in shooting the action scenes, and even a certain sense of building the characters - who, although as sketchy and shallow as in most of the Nicolaescu movies, were able yet to seduce the young and naive audience of the early seventies.The big problem remains the typical one for that epoch: political hypocrisy. The so-called "hero", a communist veteran who is appointed a police commissioner (Mihai Roman, played by Ilarion Ciobanu), is positively angelic: intelligent, wise, honest, resourceful, generous, kind and good-hearted. Of course, he MUST confront his old tormentor, commissioner Stefan Patulea (Alexandru Dobrescu), who beat the crap out of him years ago, when he was just a poor innocent subversive agent, nicely and heroically conspiring to deliver his motherland to the soviets - and now, of course, Patulea MUST be still an asshole, bent to get rid of the valiant communist (who, koochy-koo, doesn't have the least suspicion!) Fortunately, the one to save the day is the courageous, manly, gritty, trigger-quick, silver-armor knight Tudor Miclovan (Sergiu Nicolaescu), about whom the communist leader Nicolae (Emanoil Petrut) explicitly states: "He says he's apolitical, but in truth he's one of ours..." This kind of tricks were used in those years to coat the toxic pills of communist ideology in the sweet couch of thrills and adventure. Definitely, it's Nicolaescu main asset - to always be both with the devil, and with the candle (as an old Romanian saying goes...)

First of all, let me just say that I cannot speak about Cu Mainile Curate (With Clean Hands) without mentioning Ultimul Cartus (The Last Bullet). I can't. They are twin movies. They are practically a 3-hour movie cut in two. The definitive Romanian cop movie has always divided Romanian film fans into lovers and haters. Sure, the acting is sometimes awful, the clichés are blatant and the script sometimes lingers, but one can't deny the raw feeling you get when watching this movie, and that unforgettable piano theme sticks with you for the rest of your life.The plot involves two cops ("comissaries") in 1945 Bucharest. Miclovan is a dandy, trigger-happy tough cop who thinks it's better to kill villains rather than bring them to justice. Roman is a Communist-party-member-former-rugby-player idealist newbie (although the same age as Miclovan) who joined the force thinking life on the street is just like playing "cops and robbers". They are forced to work together following a series of bank and jeweler's stores robberies that Miclovan thinks are orchestrated by industrialist Semaca. The two embark on an investigation that will set them against Semaca's henchmen, with tragic consequences. The chemistry between the two cops is what it's important in this movie. Their different views on justice are obviously on a collision course and it all culminates with a fist fight between the two. They are, however, aware of each other's qualities and decide to be more open minded towards each other, taking on the bad guys as a team (it's kinda like "L.A. Confidential", if you will).The ending is symbolic, with Miclovan lying dead, shot by Semaca's men, and Roman retrieving the last bullet from his partner's gun and putting it in his pocket. At the time (1972), the audience was baffled by the ending, not knowing that Nicolaescu was already planning the sequel, in which the eponymous last bullet would play a pivotal role.