Two Prosecutors

{{Infobox film

| name = Two Prosecutors

| image =

| caption =

| native_name =

| director = Sergei Loznitsa

| screenplay = Sergei Loznitsa

| based_on = {{Based on|Two Prosecutors|Georgy Demidov}}

| producer = {{Plainlist|

Kevin Chneiweiss

}}

| starring = {{Plainlist|

Aleksandr Kuznetsov
Aleksandr Filippenko
Anatoliy Beliy
Andris Keišs
Vytautas Kaniušonis
Valentin Novopolskij
Dmitrij Denisiuk

}}

| cinematography = Oleg Mutu

| editing = Danielius Kokanauskis

| music = Christiaan Verbeek

| studio = {{Plainlist|

Atoms & Void
White Picture
LOOKSfilm
SBS Productions
Avanpost Media
Studio Uljana Kim

}}

| distributor = {{Plainlist|

{{ill|Pyramide Distribution|lt=Pyramide|fr}} (France)
Progress (Germany)

}}

| released = {{film date|df=y|2025|5|14|Cannes|2026|2|19|Germany}}

| runtime = 118 minutes

| country = {{Plainlist|

France
Germany
Romania
Latvia
Netherlands
Lithuania

}}

| language = {{Plainlist|

Russian
Ukrainian

}}

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 had its world premiere in the main competition of the 78th Cannes Film Festival on 14 May 2025, where it won the François Chalais Prize. It will be theatrically released by Progress in Germany on 19 February 2026.

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.{{cite web |last=Macnab |first=Geoffrey |title=Sergei Loznitsa gears up to shoot Stalin-era drama 'Two Prosecutors' (exclusive) |url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/sergei-loznitsa-gears-up-to-shoot-stalin-era-drama-two-prosecutors-exclusive/5193524.article |website=Screen Daily |access-date=10 April 2025 |date=16 May 2024}}

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.{{cite web |last=Leffler |first=Rebecca |title=Coproduction Office boards Sergei Loznitsa's 'Two Prosecutors' (exclusive) |url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/coproduction-office-boards-sergei-loznitsas-two-prosecutors-exclusive/5201961.article |website=Screen Daily |access-date=10 April 2025 |date=14 February 2025}}{{cite web |last=Волчек |first=Дмитрий |title="Мой герой – народ Украины". Сергей Лозница – о фильме "Вторжение" |url=https://www.svoboda.org/a/moy-geroy-narod-ukrainy-sergey-loznitsa-o-filjme-vtorzhenie-/32944591.html |website=Радио Свобода |access-date=12 April 2025 |language=ru |date=17 May 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Jansen |first1=Astrid |title="The most important thing in contemporary cinema is what it is lacking: urgency." |url=https://www.bozar.be/en/watch-read-listen/most-important-thing-contemporary-cinema-what-it-lacking-urgency |website=BOZAR |access-date=10 April 2025 |date=19 November 2024}} The production team shot in a former prison that was built in 1905.{{cite web |last=Macnab |first=Geoffrey |title=Cannes: Sergei Loznitsa talks Two Prosecutors |url=https://www.see-nl.com/artikel/20250512-cannes-sergei-loznitsa-talks-two-prosecutors |website=SEE NL |access-date=13 May 2025 |date=12 May 2025}} Filming wrapped on 25 October 2024.{{Cite Instagram |user=atomsvoidfilms |postid=DBogGejuzMj |title=It's a WRAP! Principal photography of "TWO PROSECUTORS" has been completed! |date=27 October 2024 |access-date=14 May 2025}}

Release

Coproduction Office acquired the sales rights to the film in February 2025. The film will be distributed by {{ill|Pyramide Distribution|lt=Pyramide|fr}} in France and Progress in Germany. Ahead of its premiere, the film was also acquired for distribution by {{ill|Lucky Red|it}} in Italy; Aerofilms in the Czech Republic and Slovakia; Vertigo Media in Hungary; HBO Europe in eastern Europe; Filmstop in Estonia; {{ill|MegaCom Film|sr}} in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia; Lev in Israel; and Falcon Films in the Middle East.{{cite web |last=Leffler |first=Rebecca |title=Sergei Loznitsa's 'Two Prosecutors' scores early sales ahead of Cannes premiere |url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/sergei-loznitsas-two-prosecutors-scores-early-sales-ahead-of-cannes-premiere/5204950.article |website=Screen Daily |access-date=14 May 2025 |date=14 May 2025}}

The film had its world premiere in competition at the 78th Cannes Film Festival on 14 May 2025.{{cite web |last=Vourlias |first=Christopher |title=Ukraine's Sergei Loznitsa on Cannes Competitor 'Two Prosecutors' and Budding Trump-Putin Alliance: Totalitarian Threat 'Looming on the Horizon' |url=https://variety.com/2025/film/global/sergei-loznitsa-cannes-two-prosecutors-trump-putin-1236395458/ |website=Variety |access-date=14 May 2025 |date=14 May 2025}}{{cite web |last1=Calnan |first1=Ellie |last2=Parfitt |first2=Orlando |title='Sound Of Falling', 'Two Prosecutors' kick off Cannes jury grid with strong scores |url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/sound-of-falling-two-prosecutors-kick-off-cannes-jury-grid-with-strong-scores/5205009.article |website=Screen Daily |access-date=15 May 2025 |date=15 May 2025}} Following its premiere, it was acquired by Wanda Visión and Filmin for Spain; Edge Entertainment for the Nordics and Iceland; Aurora Films for Poland; Filmtrade for Greece; Bir Film for Turkey; Sharmill Films for Australia and New Zealand; {{ill|ロングライド (映画配給会社)|lt=Longride|ja}} for Japan; Andrews Film for Taiwan; Edko Films for Hong Kong; Impact for India; {{ill|Falcon Pictures|id}} for Indonesia; Retrato Filmes for Brazil; and Zeta Films for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay.{{cite web |last1=Goodfellow |first1=Melanie |last2=Wiseman |first2=Andreas |title=Sergei Loznitsa's 'Two Prosecutors' Scores Fresh Deals For Coproduction Office – Cannes |url=https://deadline.com/2025/05/sergei-loznitsa-two-prosecutors-deals-coproduction-office-1236411552/ |website=Deadline |access-date=27 May 2025 |date=27 May 2025}} It will receive a theatrical release in Germany on 19 February 2026.

Reception

{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|94|7.5|31|ref=yes|access-date=3 June 2025}} {{Metacritic film prose|85|10|ref=yes|access-date=3 June 2025}}

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film a rating of five stars out of five, calling it "starkly austere and gripping ".{{cite web |last=Bradshaw |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Bradshaw |title=Two Prosecutors review – a petrifying portrait of Stalinist insurrection |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/may/14/two-prosecutors-review-a-petrifying-portrait-of-stalinist-insurrection |website=The Guardian |access-date=21 May 2025 |date=14 May 2025}} 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."{{cite web |last=Mintzer |first=Jordan |title='Two Prosecutors' Review: Sergei Loznitsa Explores the Stifling Climate of Stalin-Era Russia in a Legal Drama That Burns Slowly but Brightly |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/two-prosecutors-review-sergei-loznitsa-1236210813/ |website=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=15 May 2025 |date=14 May 2025}} 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.{{cite web |last=Kiang |first=Jessica |title='Two Prosecutors' Review: Sergei Loznitsa Takes Us on a Darkly Absurdist Odyssey Through the Soviet Totalitarian Nightmare |url=https://variety.com/2025/film/reviews/two-prosecutors-review-1236397478/ |website=Variety |access-date=15 May 2025 |date=14 May 2025}} 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".{{cite web |last=Bradshaw |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Bradshaw |title=Two Prosecutors review – a petrifying portrait of Stalinist insurrection |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/may/14/two-prosecutors-review-a-petrifying-portrait-of-stalinist-insurrection |website=The Guardian |access-date=14 May 2025 |date=14 May 2025}} 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.{{cite web |last=Wise |first=Damon |title='Two Prosecutors' Review: Sergei Loznitsa's Chilling Soviet Drama Is A Bleak Warning From History – Cannes Film Festival |url=https://deadline.com/2025/05/two-prosecutors-review-sergei-loznitsa-soviet-drama-cannes-1236398439/ |website=Deadline |access-date=15 May 2025 |date=14 May 2025}}

=Accolades=

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" ! scope="col"\| Award ! scope="col"\| Date of ceremony ! scope="col"\| Category ! scope="col"\| Recipient(s) ! scope="col"\| Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable"\| {{Refh}}
rowspan="2" scope="row" \| Cannes Film Festival \| rowspan="2" \| 24 May 2025 \| Palme d'Or \| rowspan="2" \| Sergei Loznitsa \| {{nom}} \| align="center"\| {{cite web \|last=Roxborough \|first=Scott \|title=Jafar Panahi Wins Cannes Palme d'Or for 'It Was Just an Accident' \|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/2025-cannes-film-festival-palme-dor-winners-1236228268/ \|website=The Hollywood Reporter \|access-date=24 May 2025 \|date=24 May 2025}}
François Chalais Prize \| {{won}} \| align="center" \|

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

! scope="col"| Award

! scope="col"| Date of ceremony

! scope="col"| Category

! scope="col"| Recipient(s)

! scope="col"| Result

! scope="col" class="unsortable"| {{Refh}}

rowspan="2" scope="row" | Cannes Film Festival

| rowspan="2" | 24 May 2025

| Palme d'Or

| rowspan="2" | Sergei Loznitsa

| {{nom}}

| align="center"| {{cite web |last=Roxborough |first=Scott |title=Jafar Panahi Wins Cannes Palme d'Or for 'It Was Just an Accident' |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/2025-cannes-film-festival-palme-dor-winners-1236228268/ |website=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=24 May 2025 |date=24 May 2025}}

François Chalais Prize

| {{won}}

| align="center" |