SnoopyStyle British Prof. Fluke Kelso (Daniel Craig) is an expert on Stalin. His lecture in Moscow is harassed by Stalin sympathizers. He is approached by an old man who claims to be a guard for Stalin during his death in 1953. He tells a shocking story that Stalin was killed by Soviet secret police chief Beria who then stole and buried Stalin's notebook.This TV movie is just pre-Bond. Certainly, post-Bond Craig gives a different feel to this material. Putin was still relatively new after his first presidential term. Russia still has the reputation as a struggling state. The plot feels right although Stalin as a Jesus-like aspiration is still unreal. Russia wants a strong man, not a faded copy of one. It's not like there's something special about Stalin's bloodline. It's the old cliché villain playbook for Hitler's secret descendant. I was hoping for something more compelling in the notebook like Stalin was a CIA plant or maybe there is a secret stash of Kremlin gold. Despite the pulpy political thriller construct, this has enough tension and intrigue to make it work. At the very least, it's a good pre-Bond Craig.

MoviegoerinWI While watching this film I kept thinking of the Forbes journalist Paul Klebnikov who wrote about political and economic matters in Russia and got very close to the inner circle of Oligarchs and then was eventually assassinated.He was the editor for Forbes in Russia and was shot while leaving the office one night. Transported to the hospital in an ambulance with no oxygen, upon arrival the elevator broke down while being taken to surgery.Though the main character played by Craig in this film is not shot, he comes close to getting assassinated.This is a very interesting film if you are into the political history of Russia. But it is slow at times and everyone is a bit too aloof, so the character development is shallow.But it's a good film in other respects. Seven stars.

sergepesic It is always fascinating to this frustrated viewer how complexities of the world we live in get dumbed down for the potential audience. Somehow, the powers to be in the movie world, seem to be petrified of intelligence. So, lets make it all simple and if possible idiotic. The legacy of Joseph Stalin and the incredible power he wielded over the former Soviet Union is a mixed bag. On one hand it is hard to dispute the horrors he committed upon his own people, but you can't argue with the fact that during his rule the country became a super power in the world. To this ardent anti-communist, Stalin's sadistic nature and crimes overpower any good that he did. But, this inane movie manages to completely miss any logic or keep an open mind. It is like a bad outdated video game.

William Bixby Blundered into this on Hulu and wish I had not. The plot is bloated and yet simplistic with few real surprises. Daniel Craig does well enough with his brand of "clenched intensity" style of acting. I can handle slow moving plots and moody "tone poem" film making styles, but this is just pointless wind. There is no real build in the intensity of the story... no real climax. And the action sequence at the end of the film is ridiculous.Joe Stalin Jr. uses a bolt-action Moisin-Nagant to single-handedly wipe out a Russian Spetznaz(Special Forces) unit of about a dozen men... only to die by a single pistol shot to the chest. Booo!