Set in the Stalin era of the Soviet Union in the Fifties . Although it starts in 1945 with the conquest of the Berlin Parliament in which some soldiers raising the Russian flag . Some years later, horrible discovery of a maimed young boy near the railway tracks in Moscow is investigated by a suffered member (Tom Hardy) of the Russian military . After that, other killings occur here and there. The gruesome murders point to an invisible prowler who preys on the innocent children . However , the state would not hear of the existence of a child murderer let alone a serial killer . His thorny investigations and his suspicious wife (Naomi Rapace) accused to be a spy lead to his detention , as he disgraced police gets demoted and exiled on a remote location in Siberia. Nevertheless, he decides, with just the help of his spouse and to go on pursuing the case . He finds similarly strange deaths happen there , notably targeting the 'unthinkable' gay minority , and begins hunting for a serial murderer . How do you find a killer who doesn't exist? . Catch the killer. Expose the truth. How many more must die before the truth is exposed? . In a system where distrust is ever-present, what separates an accident from a killing ?.

Thrilling and chilling flick set in the Stalinist era , being based on the first of a trilogy by novelist Tom Rob Smith . In Child 44 there's a sharping depiction of the Stalinist society where people lived terrorized and chased , holding rigid and strict existence in which whatever unusual opinion and abnormal activity being relentlessly pursued and punished . The interesting plot deals with a police investigator decides to find out a series of child murders in a country where supposedly this sort of crime doesn't exist. Main and secondary cast are pretty good . Tom Hardy delivers a serious and nice acting as an idealistic pro-Stalin security officer whose life goes wrong , being demoted to the deputy chief of the local police, while his suffering wife is well played by Naomi Rapace . Support cast is frankly excellent , all of them giving splendind performances , such as : Paddy Considine , Jason Clarke , Vincent Cassell , Charles Dance , Tara Fitzgerald and special mention for Gary Oldman as General Mikhail Nesterov , while Joel Kinnaman and Fares Fares , Daniel Espinosa's regular actors, provide stunning interpretations , as well.

It contains a sensitive and memorable musical score by Jon Ekstrand . As well as evocative and adequate cinematography by the great cameraman Oliver Wood . Director Daniel Espinosa replaces a bit of bada-bing with class warfare in this thriller titled Child 44 (2015) . Daniel got big hit thanks to the international film ¨Snabba cash¨. As Espinosa earned critical acclaim and subsequently hired by Hollywood , where has directed other successful films as ¨Life¨ and the hit boxoffice ¨Safe house¨ with Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds. Rating : 7/10 . Better than average . The motion picture will appeal to historical thriller enthusiasts. Well worth watching.

I watched this film with a definite unease, having read the description of the film I didn't find it hugely appealing, just because of the subject matter, which is particularly dark, but because Mr Hardy is in it, I had to watch it. They managed to take us back to Stalin's Russia, we see a brief glimpse of how tough life was for people back then, those poor people were living in horrendous conditions. The story in brief, The State have turned Russia into a Paradise, crime simply isn't possible, and the thought of a child killer unthinkable, but when young boys are being found murdered along the train tracks the unthinkable is happening. Security Officer Leo Demidov is disgraced, but believes a Serial killer is to blame, and despite the vast obstacles the state puts in place, he sets out to find the killer. Tom Hardy (of course) and Gary Oldman are particularly brilliant, and there are also wonderful performances from Paddy Considine and Petr Vanek and many others. As I've mentioned it is quite harrowing matter, but it's not overly done, mercifully the scenes aren't that gory, it could have been dreadfully overdone. I eagerly anticipate the next instalment. 9/10

There was an interesting story here about a hunt for a grotesque child killer. Too often the main plot goes off the rails and is more to do with an unhinged subordinate with a grudge.

Leo Demidov (Tom Hardy) is orphan turned war hero. Now in the early 1950s he is a high flying secret service officer in Stalin's Soviet Union. A state where murder does not exist in paradise. Murder is a capitalist disease. When they come across a murder it tends to be reclassified as an unfortunate accident.

Leo comes across the death of a child near a train line. His father is a fellow friend and comrade. The father believes it was murder but Leo persuades him to forget about it.

However deranged underling Vasili (Joel Kinnaman) has nefarious plans for Leo because Leo challenged him when he killed two people for harbouring a fugitive. He also has desires for Leo's wife Raisa (Noomi Rapace) who is accused of unpatriotic activities and Leo fails to denounce her.

Leo is demoted and exiled to the remote town of Volsk. Leo works under General Mikhail Nesterov (Gary Oldman) who is at first suspicious of Leo, especially when a child's body is discovered along the rail line. However both reluctantly team up when they discover there have been a spate of similar killings over the years.

There are several plot strands that compete for attention and the film never properly gels. In fact it is a dour stodgy mess that neglects the important part of the movie so it can have a go at the nightmare of Stalinism.