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Finally! NEW Russian Movies with English Subtitles. Posted by on May 28, 2014 in Culture, language, Russian life

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I believe this post is long overdue 🙂 . I have been planning to put together a list of new subtitled Russian movies for a while now. Those of you who already made the attempt to find some online on your own probably came across the same challenge I did – the selection of NEWER subtitled movies is hard to come by. I have spent some time searching and was able to come up with about 10 solid newer Russian movies that are worth watching.

Before we jump to the movie list, I would like to emphasize that watching movies, shows, documentaries, etc. in the language you are trying to master is a great way to learn it. I would even go as far as saying it’s one of the best ways: you hear the words used in a specific situation, you can read the translation, you can pause and rewind, and you can do it all from the comfort of your own home with a cup of tea, coffee, or what ever else floats your boat. Without further ado, let’s go over the movies I have found.

The first 7 movies are available on YouTube.

Остров (The Island) – drama , 2006.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms4TXwIDutM

This Russian religious film about an Eastern Orthodox monk is considered to be the best Russian film of 2006.  It did quite well at the box office and won some awards. Enjoy high quality video and great subtitles.

Все умрут, а я останусь (Everybody Dies but Me) – drama, 2008.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP2yHA3Kkms

The film addresses the challenges of youth by depicting two young girls as they are preparing for their first prom. Note: if the subtitles are not visible right away, click on the CC button on the bottom of the YouTube player.

Кавказский пленник (Prisoner of Caucasus) – drama, 1996.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mogQ0p1QBQA

Prisoner of the Caucasus, is a 1996 Russian war drama film directed by Sergei Bodrov and written by Bodrov, Arif Aliyev and Boris Giller. The film is based on the Caucasian War-era short story “The Prisoner of the Caucasus” by the classic Russian writer Leo Tolstoy.

Брестская крепость (Brest Fortress/Fortress of War) – drama, 2010.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CefR_OEgeY

A war drama set during the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, in which Russian troops held on to a border stronghold for nine days (based on actual events).

Беларусская мечта (Byelorussian Dream) – documentary, 2011.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bKmNN0GdN4&index=29&list=PLIQBIIhOnK1sZrP3zTdNdVdGpWVV-xgvd

Byelorussian Dream, an award-winning film, is the story of a young person from Minsk who has lived most of his life in a country ruled by a dictator. Against the background of falsified elections, brutal repressions, and a severe economic crisis, it shows how more people in the most ‘stable’ post-Soviet country are starting to demand change. This is a story about how the regime can crush a person, and how you can find your own freedom in a state that possesses total control.

Олимпус Инферно (Olympus Inferno) – action, 2008.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9WxZv28Zb4&index=48&list=PLIQBIIhOnK1sZrP3zTdNdVdGpWVV-xgvd

The movie features two main characters, an American entomologist studying butterflies in South Ossetia and a Russian female journalist. The two characters must work together to get back to Russian lines after getting swept up in the August 8, 2008 Georgian offensive against the separatist enclave of South Ossetia.

Жить (Living) – drama, 2012.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vhwJL5tGuI&index=70&list=PLIQBIIhOnK1sZrP3zTdNdVdGpWVV-xgvd

It is already a challenge to make a film on death and call it Living. But Sigarev fearlessly gets to the very heart of things, where life, death, God, love, and imagination form an indestructible whole. A harsh and sometimes brutal experience, but catharsis will follow.

ДМБ (Demobbed) – comedy, 2000.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVyDqY56yL0&list=PLIQBIIhOnK1sZrP3zTdNdVdGpWVV-xgvd&index=74

A comedy about Russian joining/being in the Russian army.

The last 3 movies are from a video-streaming website www.top-russian.com. They offer the free version of the movies (lower picture quality) or you can download the movie in good quality for $2.50.

Неадекватные люди (Unusual People) – comedy, 2011.

http://top-russian.com/romantic-movies/16-unusual-people.html

Quiet and well-mannered Vitalik tries to start life from scratch in a new city. But there on his way he meets only crazy people. His neighbor, an eccentric girl named Christine, seeks to transform him into a normal guy, the lustful chief does not give him a rest at new work, and even a psychologist who helps him cope with all of this is a sadomasochist. Vitalik seems to be the only normal person in this movie.

Сибирский цирюльник (The Barber of Siberia) – drama, 1998.

http://top-russian.com/romantic-movies/39-the-barber-of-siberia.html

This is one my personal favorites 🙂 . Some of it is in English. Julia Ormond and Oleg Menshikov deliver a great performance. “Douglas is a foreign entrepreneur, who ventures to Russia in 1885 with dreams of selling a new, experimental steam-driven timber harvester in the wilds of Siberia. Jane is his assistant, who falls in love with a young Russian officer, André, and spends the next 10 years perfecting the harvester and pursuing her love, who has been exiled to Siberia.”

Питер ФМ (Radio Wave) – comedy, 2006.

http://top-russian.com/romantic-movies/38-radio-wave.html

Masha works as a DJ at a popular radio station; Maxim, an architect with a great future, is invited to work in Germany. Masha is going to marry her classmate. Both of them seem to have their future clearly defined, until… Masha looses her phone and Maxim finds it. What follows is a “phone relationship” but neither Masha, nor Maxim can make a final decision. Watch the film to find out if the two are destined to be together.

Please, feel free to add to the list!!!

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About the Author: Jenya

Born in Russia, I spent the first twenty years of my life in Orenburg, Russia and Mogilev, Belarus. For the last eleven years, I've lived in New Hampshire and Michigan, US. While I continue to absorb and adapt to American culture, I am always thrilled to share my Russian heritage with those who find it interesting. Travel, photography and art play a special part in my life. Twitter: @iamnx2u


Comments:

  1. Batboy:

    Thanks for the list, can’t wait to see them.
    Let me contribute to the list. I recently saw Tsar, by Pavel Lungin, based on the life of Ivan the Terrible and, in particular, his relationship with Metropolitan Philip. The subtitles were atrocious, comparable to some of the torture scenes (understandably, it’s a very violent film) but I still found it excellent. The main actor, Piotr Mamonov, was absolutely stunning, and the atmosphere was superb. You really got a feel for life in those days in Russia.
    P.S. Prisoner of Caucasus is by Pushkin. Maybe you got it mixed with Hadji Murat?

    • Jenya:

      @Batboy Batboy,
      thank you very much for the info. I have not seen Tsar but heard about it. As far as “The Prisoner of the Caucasus” , I am pretty sure it was written by Tolstoy, just like my post says 🙂 Here is a Wikipedia link.

  2. Batboy:

    I stand corrected … but the Wikipedia also says “Название рассказа является отсылкой к названию поэмы Пушкина «Кавказский пленник».” I guess we’re both right. 😉

  3. Jenya:

    I believe they are simply 2 different works with similar titles 🙂

  4. Michael:

    Thanks, Jenya. I’ve been noticing a lot of your submissions on Reddit recently and they are usually very interesting and helpful.

    • Jenya:

      @Michael Thank you very much, Michael!

  5. Maria:

    Great post, Jenya. There is a couple I haven’t seen myself. Thanks for the links!

    It’s funny, I actually translated the subs for the Brest Fortress. Not sure if my translation is the one on youtube (if the youtube translation is bad, then it’s not mine ;)).

    I also like Плюс один (http://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/395697/), but I couldn’t find it with English subtitles. It is spot on in talking to Russian inhibitions.

    • Jenya:

      @Maria Маша, that is so cool! I never had the pleasure of translating a movie. I bet it was an interesting task 🙂 .

  6. Brandon Price:

    I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I noticed that last year’s “Stalingrad” is available on iTunes along with *many* ways to watch it, including in Russian with English subtitles. I’ll be renting it soon to check it out.

  7. Brandon Price:

    Oh, and thank you SO MUCH for these recommendations. I feel so overwhelmed with finding good, modern Russian movies. I appreciate your recommendations (and I’m excited I’ve only seen one of the movies on the list).

  8. Jenya:

    Thank you everyone for chiming in! Let’s keep building the list 🙂 .

  9. Bojan Todorovski:

    Subteller – subtitle search engine. Find and download subtitles for your favorite movies.

  10. Subteller – subtitles search engine:

    I am not sure the place you’re getting your info, but great topic. I must spend some time learning much more or figuring out more. Thank you for wonderful information I was searching for this information for my mission.

  11. TsUNaMy WaVe:

    Thank you very much! I’m starting to learn Russian and I already know that the best way to learn a language is through movies/series (That’s how I’ve learned Japanese). I’m really glad I found this post of yours =]

  12. Jagrid:

    I’ve been buying some russian movies in my attempt to learn the language. Here are a few I’ve liked. I’ve bought most of mine via Amazon.

    Стиляги (Hipsters) – musical drama, 2008 – This is definitely one of my favorites so far. It’s a musical in the spirit of Moulin Rouge (though more retrained) about the “Hipsters” rebelling against Soviet conformity via loud clothes and jazz music. The songs are, from what I gather, re-worked versions of popular 90s era rock songs. They’re catchy enough that you’ll be singing along in no time even with very little knowledge of Russian.

    Волкодав (Wolfhound) – fantasy, 2006 – This is a film that brings back fond memories of the 1980s sword and sorcery movies like Conan the Barbarian and Clash of the Titans.

    Чёрная Молния (Black Lightning) – super hero, 2009 – This is, essentially beat for beat, a Russian version of Spiderman minus the web slinging and truly outlandish villains. It’s silly, as replacing the web slinging is a flying car, but I found it to be quite fun.

    Someone else mentioned Stalingrad – it can be recommended just because it’s one of the few that are fairly accessible since it had an actual release in American theatres, but the movie itself is some strange blend of Pearl Harbor and 300.

  13. Steve:

    Thanks for all the great suggestions. One I saw recently was Как я провёл этим летом (How I ended this summer). I can’t find a full movie on youtube, but a version with good subtitles is on iTunes.

  14. Tamara:

    Please, help me to find subtitles for Legend no 17? It is such a cool movie, I really want to show to my international friends..

  15. Phil Obidzinski:

    Спасибо!I have seen some of them (great films) might also suggest the miniseries “Бригада” and “Особенности национальной рыбалки” 🙂

  16. Fernando Galindo:

    Hi! I just love this entry. Thx. I am a fan of russian literatura, I will love to watch all the new series, but it’s almost imposible to find subtitles. I dream to watch Life and fate, but it has been imposible, I searched everywhere. Right now I would like to watch Dostoyevski, the series of 2011. But again… subtitles. It´s like a nightmare, I mean it can be that hard to release the movies with english subtitles at leat, or italian, or spanish or portuguese, I mean… If perhaps you know a site or anyplace where I can find them, please let me know. ThX

  17. Roland:

    Chapter1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxCZbjXUxpQ
    Russian series. This nice story began in 1981, back at USSR times. Two families, two stories. At first it looks that their lives are so different. But suddenly the destinies of these families get intertwined. The story goes through all USSR times and up to modern Russia of 2011. Very nice family story that bring up thoughts about how unpredictable and surprising is our life. Make you think about family and life values. 12 chapters are very excited to watch, events are moving rapidly. There is always this exiting feeling that you can’t wait to see the next chapter. Also these series reflect very well the atmosphere and routine life of soviet society, as well as modern Russia being.

  18. Indy Hepburn:

    Hi there is a Video I saw on You Tube that has English Subtitles
    Milla Jovovich interview on Russian TV Channel “Rain” (with subtitles)

    How do I get Subtitles added to the videos?

    There are a few other videos of Milla that I want to get English Subtitles for so I can understand the video..

    Please help me get Subtitles for the Videos..I am happy to PAY you!

    Thanks from Indy

  19. GoodMoviesOrg:

    Nice! It’s about time to have Russian movies with English Subtitles.

  20. Milovan Tomasevic:

    Hi guys! Check out my youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgYG46CuHoMyGHvftf7MtTg , it has russian videos and full series with english subtitles. I am planing to do some more english captions for Russian movies, so if you like russian movies here are a few links for movies and series from my yt channel 🙂 Series
    CRIME AND PUNISHMENT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTLwOaTQzVs
    Series IDIOT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KrldfSKVfM
    Russian/German Movie AS FAR AS MY FEET WILL CARRY ME https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6RR5qU_Du4

  21. AWGR:

    I’m not set up with my cyrillic keyboard do this is going to be all in English – switching back and forth from a virtual keyboard takes WAY too long – apologies.
    Amazon has (on instant video) 3 Russian TV series with subtitles: Pure Gold, The Day After, and The Three Musketeers – all worth watching, as well as quite a few Prime Instant movies available.
    A general search for “Russian movies English subtitles” will give you everything they have – and more – sometimes you can tell it’s utterly unrelated, others – not as obvious.
    These are some of the ones I’ve watched and enjoyed.
    I thought all of the following: No Love in the City, 1, 2, and 3; Yolki, Yolki 2 and Yolki 3 (also called in English, respectively; Six, Seven, and Eight Degrees of Celebration) along with Kiss them All (or Gorko!) would be terrible, but actually found them hilarious. I have pretty juvenile taste. They’re also quite useful in that they were released in the last 5-6 years.
    NightWatch and DayWatch are Science Fiction released in 04 and 07.
    12 is excellent – based on 12 Angry Men.
    Law of Corruption, The Maltese Cross, Brigada Legatee are all good action adventure movies. I was surprised to see my 2 favorite of this genre missing above – maybe I didn’t see them, but Brother and Brother 2 are well worth watching. YouTube has Brother in 8 or 9 parts with subtitles which was kind of hard to watch, but Top-Movies has both.
    Alien Girl is not Prime and I wouldn’t actually pay for it, if you can see if for free and have nothing else to do…
    There are several others I haven’t watched yet, but Amazon is a pretty good source.
    Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears should probably be on any list. I have it on disc which is cumbersome, but I know it’s on YouTube.
    As far as I could tell NetFlix was pretty useless, I signed on to my son’s account to see what they had and it was lame. Judging by the information I saw on Imbd, Hulu Plus might have a lot of Russian movies, has anyone every checked there?

    • Jenya:

      @AWGR Wow, AWGR! Thank you very much for a very detailed comment. I am sure a lot of our readers will find this information useful! Moscow Does not Believe in Tears is definitely worth watching, I am pretty fond of it myself. I saw the movie 12 a few years ago on a big screen, here in Detroit. I thought it was pretty interesting, however, as long as were are talking about Nikita Mikhalkov (the director), I like his movie The Barber of Siberia far better :-).

  22. ahemd:

    i want subtitles for this movie
    My Kingdom for the love

  23. Promo Kartu Kredit BRI:

    I’ve been browsing on-line more than 3 hours as of late, but I by no means discovered any attention-grabbing article like yours. It¡¦s pretty value enough for me. In my view, if all site owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the internet can be much more useful than ever before.

  24. Bettye Odam:

    Appreciating the time and energy you put into your blog and in depth information you provide. It’s awesome to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same outdated rehashed material. Great read! I’ve bookmarked your site and I’m adding your RSS feeds to my Google account.

  25. Clarence Casamento:

    Very interesting details you have noted , thankyou for posting . “The biggest fool may come out with a bit of sense when you least expect it.” by Eden Phillpotts.

  26. Justyna:

    Oh, it’s great you shared some Russian movies with English subs! 😀 I couldn’t find subs to some of them for ages! To tell the truth, I’m still looking for subtitles to some Russian stuff. Maybe someone will read my comment and be able to help and find “Dostoevsky” (“Достоевский”)(TV series from 2011) and “Demons” (“Бесы”) (TV series from 2014)with English subtitles. Hopefully…

  27. Peter:

    HELP!!!!

    Not so long ago you did a blog about writing/talking about films, with really useful phrases like “it is set in …”. Now I come to actually need it, I can’t find it. Could you send a link to it. I was thinking of writing about a Russian film I like a lot (‘Everybody dies but me’) but now I’ve just started watching another film (‘Above dark waters’) and will describe one of them one day soon! Thanks a lot. Peter.

  28. Peter:

    Oh, I didn’t know I was writing for public consumption! Anyway, I’ve found the Blog – ‘Storytelling in Russian’ and the phrase сюжет /действие разворачивается. I would recommend the film “над тёмной водой” … it’s on YouTube but it doesn’t have English subtitles … but it’s a fantastic insight into what life (I imagine) was like in the USSR in the 1960s. In fact, I thought it was made in the 1960s but it was made in 1993 and has some very ‘adult’ scenes which I don’t think would have been tolerated in the USSR. I find I can understand brief passages but you don’t need to understand all that’s being said in order to understand what is going on. The link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT4Fp_Q_0BA Peter.

  29. Silvia:

    Thank you for this list! i want to suggest this film:

    Perfume The Story of a Murderer (based on Süskind book)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTL5HFS0hss

    Russian audio, english subtitles. It’s a 2006 german movie.

  30. Eva:

    Hi! Do you know if there are english subs for the Сериал “Достоевский”? Thanks.

  31. Ranjit:

    Please help me find the subtitles for the TV series Sherlock Holmes (2013) made in Russian Languiage. It is “Шерлок Холмс” in Russia.

  32. Lii:

    About whether “The Prisoner of the Caucasus” is by Tolstoy or Pushkin: It’s both!

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prisoner_of_the_Caucasus

  33. tsvetochik:

    i am really looking for Sunstroke 2014 (Солнечный удар). if you could do this, it would be great.

  34. sam:

    Hi guys
    I’m looking for English subtitle for a Russian movie called
    “status:free” or internationally known as “let’s be friends”
    Can anyone help me hear?

  35. Zoe:

    Justyna, maby you’ll find some Soviet and Russian movies with English sub here – http://sovietmoviesonline.com/en/ 🙂

  36. Jill Dione:

    Do you know where/how I could purchase a DVD of “Red Army” in Russian with English subtitles or vice-versa for Region 1 (that is, to be used in the U.S.) There is a Russian/English version available but it’s for Region 2. Thanks for any help you can provide.
    Sincerely,
    Jill

  37. Arul:

    Please help me find the subtitles for the movie 14+

  38. abhishek:

    hey gys can u suggest me any torrent website providing russian movies in eng or with eng subtitle any help will be appreciated :}

  39. lee:

    I’ve been searching the internet (vainly) for a Russian movie made in the 2000s but whose title name I can’t remember. It’s about two coming out of age girls who meet совсем случайно and become friends while running away to avoid life’s adversities. One of them (the little one, who was an orphan) dies in the arms of the other after being struck by a car. Once again, do you happen to know what movie I’ve been babbling about?

  40. Mohsin:

    28 panfilovcev 2016
    Needed Subtitle can anyone help?

  41. Lawrence:

    Can anyone PLEASE help me find sensible English subtitles for “Dead Season” (Мертвый сезон – Режиссёр: Савва Кулиш), 1968? The only subtitle I have been able to locate is the file: Myortvyy Sezon (1969) en.srt – and the translations in it are terrible. Thanks a lot.

  42. alfredjux:

    Hi Jenya.
    Do you know if exist subtitles to Name Me russian film? English subtitles
    Thanks a lot from Mexico

  43. Bellkie:

    Hi, can you translated Russian Movie 14+ 2015 to English

    Thank You

  44. Erick:

    Hi anyone with the link to the movie sarancha 2014 english srt sub file also called the locust

    Thanks