The 9th Company – Film Review

The 9th Company is the Russian Full Metal Jacket.

It starts of in bootcamp and ends in an inhospitable landscape fighting guerillas in unconventional warfare. It is a fictional portrayal of The Battle for Hill 3234.

That being said, the value of this film lies in what can be gleaned not from the similarities with the former film, but with the differences.

First of all, we are introduced to Russian culture in the form of dedovshchina, a term which encapsulates the institutions of the former Soviet Union ( and which continue to this day).

Russian hierarchies have their cultural inheritance in the gulag, and in The Bitch Wars. A brutal, and demoralizing structure is created where only the most ruthless and sociopathic element rise to the top.

Second of all, we have a very clear image of the Majahideen fighting tactics. Majahideen fighters are absolutely unbeholden to death; they are experts at using the mountainous landscape, and are capable of launching attacks where they can disapear into elaborate cave systems without a moment’s warning.

Children are often actual beligerants, at an age where Western children are still playing with legos.

This film is pertinent for an idea of what American troops are facing in Afghanistan (it is so superior to the Robert Redford fiasco, and I refuse to name the latter film).

It is also pertinent to understand the Russian attitude towards non-Russians, whom they deam as being in need of help from their benevolent hand (think Ukraine at this moment).

I recommend this film.