Child 44 is based on a novel that features a fictional hero who is a member of the Soviet Ministry of State Security. Imagine a hero of the Gestapo-kind of a tricky thing to pull off because by being a member of such an organization, you seem inherently villainous yet Child 44 manages to accomplish this feat. He has faith in Soviet ideals because he was rescued by a Soviet soldier as a child and defeated the Nazis so he has a moment of horrific awakening when he realizes that the government he admires is covering up child murders and requires extreme loyalty from him.
Normally I hate thrillers like Enigma and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy that use real life epic historical events as a backdrop for the hero’s flawed romantic life and end up butchering the more interesting historical story, but Child 44 succeeded at capturing my attention during the first half. Child 44 effectively portrays the daily horrors of living in the Soviet Union. Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace are really magnificent and charismatic actors, and the intersection between official and unofficial work and personal life was initially riveting until it became ridiculous.

SPOILERS

The minute that the married couple returned to Moscow together, Child 44 lost me. The only reason that they both have to go to Moscow is to solidify their new emotional bonds, not as an effective investigation strategy. When the movie’s tension is resolved, systematic state violence is reduced to one cowardly vet turned nefarious secret agent responsible for all the horrors and motivated by rivalry. It is ridiculous. For a more historically accurate, check out Citizen X, which represents the official Soviet investigation of a serial killer. Otherwise only check out Child 44 if you must see the magnetic Tom Hardy in every film.