KRIMINĀLLIETA IESĀCĒJAM

Crime drama miniseries based on Andra Kolberga; crime novel "Looking for a woman" (Don't call for me, don't look for me!, Life of a Soviet secret agent, 1996)
Crime Drama/Investigative/KGB/Historical,
Duration: 350 min, 7 x 45, HD, 2022. year
Language: Latvian, Russian ( with english subtitles)
Country: Latvia, Lithuania
Produced by :Red Dot Media (Latvia), In:Script (Lithuania) .
Available rights:worldwide, except the Baltics
countries ( Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia)
Original title: Krimināllieta iesācējam

A brief outline of the plot

On the day when the remnants of the Soviet power are symbolically liquidated in Latvia - the last locator of the USSR army is blown up, the deputy of the national wing is killed by his aides in his apartment. Nata Nolle, who was killed, was talented and capable, the decisions made by the politicians of the restored Latvia depended on her. Realizing that the murder is politically motivated, the experienced police leaders assign the case to a new rookie. An investigator quickly tracks down a thief released from prison a month ago who was at the scene of the murder, but the evidence turns out to be fake. Continuing to investigate the murder of Nata Nolle, the young investigator comes on the trail of a large conspiracy.

Place and time of action

The action of the film takes place in 1995 in Latvia, which has just regained its independence. This is the 4th year of restored Latvian independence. The country managed to democratically elect a parliament, restore Latvia's international reputation, and agree on the withdrawal of Russian troops. However, an invisible force has remained - the KGB has kept its network of agents and is able to use it at any moment. Foreign businessmen are coming to Latvia, who are able to fool the inexperienced state leaders. Russia is gradually regaining its influence in the new democracy. These are unique crossroads. The country, which was still behind the Iron Curtain and was violently incorporated into the USSR, is now free and creating its own governance model. At the same time, the Soviet heritage coexists with the new democracy. Both naïve freedom fighters and experienced Soviet nomenclature, who were able to change callings and slogans, entered the parliament. Who is a real patriot, who is pretending and why - no one knows.

The old laws no longer work, the new ones have not yet stabilized. One of the main characters - the legal thief Nitish, who has spent the last 10 years in prison - finds himself in this situation. Convicted in the Soviet system, he is released in another country. Everything has collapsed in Nitish's world - the hierarchy of legal thieves does not work, the savings have disappeared. The only thing he can do is open complex keys. This leads him to the scene of the murder.

The young investigator Kārkliņš understands that he has been given a dangerous case and no one will help him if he makes a mistake. Defiance and naivety leads young investigator to the traces of the murder, revealing what he should not have known.

Nata Nolle is well versed in both written and unwritten laws. She is influential, what decisions politicians will make depends on her. Nata has an excellent education - she graduated from the KGB spy school. Her employers in the Latvian Saeima do not know this, they trust Nata in everything. It is Nat's mind and abilities that have made her boss an influential politician. The destinies of these three unrelated people change when Nata indulges in feminine weakness and tries to take care of her own life.

Movie style

The structure of the film consists of three short stories, each moving at its own time and pace and connecting on the day of Nat's murder. Each short story has its own main character - Nata's line reveals the methods and influence of the KGB since 1968, the story of the legal thief Nitish is about a man whose world has completely collapsed. He goes to prison in one country, but comes out free in a completely different one. Double laws have always worked in Nitish's life - those adopted by the state and those dictated by the world of thieves. After getting out of prison, neither of them work anymore. Investigator Kārklins has also experienced both systems, he studied at school in the Soviet Union, but at the Police Academy in free Latvia. Only the teachers are still the same. Each line moves at its own speed until in episode 6 they all sync up. Episode 7 is the day of the murder.

Director's vision

The 90s have influenced not only the current course of the country, but also the perception of life, fears and daring of several generations. Examples of the environment around us have shaped our sense of how this world works. The transitional period is frenzied and uncontrollable, where the physical impotence and disorganization of the country gave ground to the use of force and cunning for quick gain. It is a time with a perfect environment for making cinema, first of all, because of its visual contrast, for example, the leader of a large group can drive the finest car of the time (for example, an Audi 100 with tinted windows) and at the same time go to his residence in a microdistrict in a two-room apartment in an apartment building. , where the ceiling is strewn with stuck matches, and, secondly, with its availability - the witnesses of that time are alive, thus first-hand stories are available, which allow you to look at the events or circumstances down to the smallest detail and learn what at that time nobody knew about criminal news not known to the reader. Conversations with the authorities of that time often start with the phrase "that's how it was a comedy" and then follow "how it really happened" - it is a huge asset to give the viewer the opportunity to see the hitherto unseen, in a historically accurate depiction. Apart from the glorious background of the 90s, the task of the script and direction will be to continuously allow the viewer to ask - what would we do in the place of the characters? Questions - would we, if we were in their place, make more right or wrong decisions, are we really sure that we would not try to rob the country ourselves if we had found ourselves in a time of uncontrolled opportunities, would we really not be buyable policemen if the salary was 100 lats and we could not hire our own work car and whether they could be good deputies if the racket takes money from them. Filming style – direct, sharp, without embellishments and unnecessary effects, the viewer should feel thrown into the vortex of the 90s, but at the same time without embellishing the ostentatiousness with which 90s gang serials in the East often sin.

Main roles

Madara Zviedre

Adult Nata

DIāna Krista Stafecka

Young Nata

Ritvars Toms Logins

Investigator Kārkliņš

Ģirts Krūmiņš

Chief Investigator Sidrabs

Aleksejs Gorbunovs

Thief Antons Nitišs

Bright actors also in other roles: deputy Silsalka - Marcis Manjakovs, bandit Dima Azeryan - Yuri Djakonov, Gosha Azeryan - Hrants Tokhatian (Armenia), Nikolajas NolleValentíns Novopolskis (Lithuania), private detective Kim - Yuri Curilo (Russia), Matilde - Madara Vilchuk, Natas grandfather - Uldis Dumpis, Nata's mother - Ināra Slucka, Nata's teacher Kamils Petrovičs - Andrejs Iļjins (Russia)

Creative Team

Director Armands Zvirbulis.

Armands Zvirbulis is a director whose handwriting is characterized by a special immersion in the psychology of characters and careful work with actors. Armand's list of works includes many documentaries, series and multi-series films, theater performances. The director of the film "Mazie Laupīdī" (2009) received the Lielais Kristaps, the highest award of the Latvian film industry, the film participated in more than 60 film festivals and received 14 awards. In 2019, the Big Kristaps Prize was awarded to the series "Red Forest" directed by Armand, which was part of the special Latvian Centennial cinema program. "Red Forest" also received the Latvian public media award "Kilograms kulturas" as the best film work.

Cinematographer Gints Bērziņš. Photographer and operator, president of the Latvian Cinematographers Guild (LGC).