Two Prosecutors

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. Starring Aleksandr Kuznetsov and Aleksandr Filippenko, the film follows a young Soviet prosecutor seeking justice for a prisoner during Joseph Stalin's ongoing Great Purge. The film premiered at the 78th Cannes Film Festival on 14 May 2025, and will be theatrically released by Progress in Germany on 19 February 2026.

Two Prosecutors
Directed by	Sergei Loznitsa
Screenplay by	Sergei Loznitsa
Based on	Two Prosecutors by Georgy Demidov
Produced by	Kevin Chneiweiss
Starring	Aleksandr Kuznetsov Aleksandr Filippenko Anatoliy Beliy Andris Keišs Vytautas Kaniušonis Valentin Novopolskij Dmitrij Denisiuk
Cinematography	Oleg Mutu
Edited by	Danielius Kokanauskis
Music by	Christiaan Verbeek
Production companies	Atoms & Void White Picture LOOKSfilm SBS Productions Avanpost Media Studio Uljana Kim
Distributed by	Pyramide [fr] Progress
Release dates	14 May 2025 (2025-05-14) (Cannes) 19 February 2026 (2026-02-19) (Germany)
Running time	118 minutes
Countries	France Germany Romania Latvia Netherlands Lithuania
Languages	Russian Ukrainian

Premise

In 1937, amid Joseph Stalin's Great Purge, a young Soviet prosecutor comes across a letter written by a prisoner in Bryansk. Believing the man to be the victim of NKVD corruption, the prosecutor seeks out justice with the Procurator General.^[1]

Cast

• Aleksandr Kuznetsov as Kornyev
• Aleksandr Filippenko as Stepniak / Pegleg
• Anatoliy Beliy as Andrey Vyshinsky
• Andris Keišs
• Vytautas Kaniušonis
• Valentin Novopolskij
• Dmitrij Denisiuk

Production

Principal photography took place in Riga.^[2][3][4] The production team shot in a former prison that was built in 1905.^[5] Filming wrapped on 25 October 2024.^[6]

Release

Coproduction Office acquired the sales rights to the film in February 2025.^[2] The film will be distributed by Pyramide [fr] in France and Progress in Germany. Ahead of its premiere, the film was also acquired for distribution by Lucky Red [it] in Italy; Aerofilms in the Czech Republic and Slovakia; Vertigo Media in Hungary; HBO Europe in eastern Europe; Filmstop in Estonia; MegaCom Film [sr] in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia; Lev in Israel; and Falcon Films in the Middle East.^[7]

The film had its world premiere in competition at the 78th Cannes Film Festival on 14 May 2025.^[8] It will receive a theatrical release in Germany on 19 February 2026.

Reception

Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Impeccably directed and impressively acted, this slow-burn story of political injustice is filled to the brim with atmosphere — specifically the stifling, claustrophobic atmosphere of the U.S.S.R. at the height of Stalin’s Great Purge."^[9]

Jessica Kiang of Variety wrote, "[T]his is not the kind of movie that hinges on abrupt reveals or gratuitous twists. Indeed, the banal predictability of Kornyev's slowly mounting humiliations and disillusionments is very much the point. The film's fascination lies in its fabric, the devastation in its detail...." She praised Oleg Mutu's cinematography, Christiaan Verbeek's score, and Jurij Grigorovič and Aldis Meinerts's production design.^[10]

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film a rating of five stars out of five, calling it "a disturbing parable of the insidious micro-processes of tyranny".^[11] Damon Wise of Deadline noted that the film was "a bleak warning from history" and commended the film's set design and relevance to current events.^[12]