Two Prosecutors is a 2025 historical drama film written and directed by Sergei Loznitsa, based on the novella of the same name by Georgy Demidov. The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last May (where it won the François Chalais Prize) and was released in the UK on 27 March.

This is a story about the extent of NKVD corruption and the associated fear during the Stalin era. In 1937, during Stalin’s Great Purge, Kornyev (Aleksandr Kuznetsov), a young Soviet prosecutor, comes across a letter written by a prisoner in Bryansk. Despite the reluctance of the prison director, he insists on visiting the prisoner, Stepniak (Aleksandr Filippenko). Stepniak, who was also a prosecutor, recounts his mistreatment at the hands of the NKVD and urges Kornyev to take action. Kornyev travels to Moscow where he struggles to navigate the system but is finally given a chance to put his case before the Procurator General Andrey Vyshinsky (Anatoliy Beliy). 

The film focuses on Kornyev’s Kafkaesque journey through Soviet bureaucracy. It is the story of how the dogged persistence of the fresh-faced, almost naïve, new prosecutor can win out against the corrupt system – almost.

Two Prosecutors depicts the era of Stalin terror well and the story is told with painstaking attention to detail. However, ultimately, I felt that whilst it was an interesting document of the times, there was not enough depth to make it a great film, hence the lack of stars. It was a worthy effort, but for me just failed to deliver.