Black Square

The movie starts with epigraphs quoting the song Wolf Hunt and a French rendition of La Fin Du Bal, instantly signaling the mood. It places the story in Moscow in late 1982, shortly after Brezhnev's death. We are introduced to Alexander Turetsky, a young trainee investigator, and his mentor Merkulov as they prepare to take on a difficult murder case.

Rakitin, a high-ranking official in the foreign trade department, is found hanged near the VDNH exhibition center. On the same day, his lover Valeria Kupriyanova, a Bolshoi Ballet dancer, is found murdered in a hotel room registered under Rakitin's name. The dual killings hint at a larger conspiracy and set the investigators on a dangerous path.

Turetsky and Merkulov launch the formal investigation into the double murder, tracing leads across Moscow. As they dig deeper, they uncover a criminal network dealing in contraband jewels and discover that stolen valuables are hidden in the homes of top officials. The case widens beyond a simple homicide to systemic corruption.

The investigators map out a broader network of contraband jewel dealings linked to state actors. They find that stolen valuables are concealed in the residences of high-ranking officials, suggesting a protection racket at the top. The exposure deepens the stakes and the danger to everyone involved.

Under Yuri Andropov's push for law and order, authorities arrest Mikhail Georgadze, Secretary of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. He dies in custody, highlighting the brutal stakes of the crackdown and the peril facing those in power. The case signals that higher powers will not tolerate resistance.

Amid the investigation, Turetsky begins a secret romantic liaison with Rita Schastlivaya, a forensic expert. The affair complicates his professional judgment and intensifies the personal risks around the case. Their bond becomes a source of tension as state security begins to monitor them.

State security agents monitor and intercept Turetsky and Rita as the investigation progresses. The sense of being watched heightens the tension and foreshadows further danger. The surveillance underscores how the case intersects with the shadowy world of espionage.

Rakitin had stumbled upon sensitive KGB plans to destabilize the global economy and intended to leak them to a foreign journalist. His knowledge makes him a dangerous liability to powerful interests, providing a motive for those who want him silenced. The discovery ties the murders to a larger scheme at the highest levels of state security.

General Kassarine, a KGB officer trafficking gold and gems to finance covert operations abroad, becomes determined to suppress the investigation. He embodies the hidden money moving through the regime to fund secretive actions. His presence escalates the danger facing Turetsky and Merkulov.

Kassarine attempts to recruit Turetsky, but fails to sway him and resorts to violence. Rita Schastlivaya is killed and Merkulov is injured in the ensuing confrontation. The personal and professional stakes collide as the case teeters on the edge of collapse.

The investigation culminates in a final confrontation with Kassarine, who dies in a shootout. Turetsky and Merkulov survive the clash and the truth about the network begins to surface. The power of the regime to enforce silence is finally challenged, if only for a moment.

With the evidence compromised and the truth at risk of leaking, Turetsky burns the dangerous documents. The act preserves some sense of order and shields others from the fallout of the case. He remains committed to pursuing justice within the system.

In the closing scenes, a recovering Merkulov is visited by Turetsky in the hospital. The younger investigator vows to continue working at the prosecutor's office, signaling a grim but hopeful persistence of law and order. The film ends with a sense of unresolved tension but a commitment to the pursuit of justice.