This is such a beautiful film and way deeper than some might realize. It is not only a brilliant character study, but also hints at some brutal facts about Russia's past.

There will be spoilers from here on!!!

So what's the problem with Ljoha? It is never spelled out but from all we see and hear we realize that he was an orphan during the collapse of the USSR. Orphanages were never good in the Soviet Union but they got no better after its collapse.

This is from Wikipedia: "There have been reports over the years that the conditions in the orphanages are not providing proper mental and physical care. Researchers have stated that children 3 and under lose one IQ point for every month spent inside. Children adopted from Russia are also more likely than any other country to have fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Doctors visiting some of these institutions have even reported seeing toddlers sitting alone, rocking back and forth, staring blankly, or even banging their heads against walls. Children in the 1990s were often not provided with proper nutrition and were not given quality living and sleeping conditions.

The older woman whom they visited (who was more than a mother) probably worked at the orphanage. This is why he struggles with rejection. And this is also why he does not write down his address. He probably does not have one.

I love how the film first presents him as a terrible person but slowly shows us his humanity. How he is much more than what is on the surface.

The main theme of the film is lies. Lies the government tells through statistics (as the old woman points out). Laura's life in Moscow is also a lie. She is really not in a loving relationship and all these educated people are just performing for each other. She slowly realizes this and loses her camera at the same time with all the fake memories. And Ljoha is hiding his past.

And then there's the whole purpose of the trip, which ends up being the least interesting thing that happens, because even though the past matters, the connections we make here and now matter more.

I have just watched this at the Mostra Internacional de São Paulo.

It feels very genuine: the acting is naturalistic and the story, simple. It's a road movie/coming of age experience that teaches us a few valuable lessons without preaching them. Also a reminder of how much we miss natural-looking people on the big screen.

Very unusual film that keeps your interest to the end. At Cannes, this film shared honors of the second best film in competition with Farhadi's Iranian film "A Hero." I found this work to be far superior to the Iranian film. "Compartment no. 6" is based on a Finnish novel by a reputed lady novelist from that country. As I have not read the novel, how well the Finnish director adapted it is unclear. The performances of all the actors are convincing--especially that of the Russian miner (Yuriy Borisov) from start to finish. Definitely, one of my best films of 2021. Actor Yuriy Borisov had a small role in Zvyagintsev's "Elena," (the actor's debut in feature films)--and it is impressive for him to evolve into a major character actor in this film. He was evidently Zvyagintsev's discovery.