| Vertical Race | |
| Director: | Aleksander Muratov |
| Starring: | Andrey Myagkov Valentin Gaft |
| Music: | Eugen Doga |
| Cinematography: | Aleksandr Yanovsky |
| Editing: | Elizaveta Rybak |
| Studio: | Dovzhenko Film Studios |
| Runtime: | 199 minutes |
| Country: | Soviet Union |
| Language: | Russian |
Vertical Race (Russian: Гонки по вертикали|Gonki po vertikali) is a 1982 Soviet three-part crime miniseries directed by Aleksander Muratov based on the story of the same name by the Vayner Brothers.[1] [2]
The action takes place in the USSR in the 1980s. The plot is based on the confrontation between Moscow Criminal Investigations Department inspector Stanislav Tikhonov (Andrey Myagkov) and the thief-recidivist Alexei Dedushkin, nicknamed "Baton" (Valentin Gaft).
Officers of the investigations department detain a criminal with an imported suitcase packed with foreign things among which they find the Order of St. Andrew, but due to insufficient evidence (no report of theft), they have to let "Baton" go. He is at large and continues to pursue criminal activities. He begins to feel threatened, starts to steal fur hats and coats from a store, commits a theft in the apartment of a retired general, where, in addition to the savings book, "Baton" also takes the revolver and cartridges. Taking the thief into custody becomes a matter of principle to Tikhonov, he carefully collects the evidence, and Dedushkin has nowhere to go. The cornered criminal is ready to use weapons against a police officer.