In general, it's a great film. On the other hand, it requires a lot of special knowledge to be completely comprehended. If you don't originate from one of the post-Soviet states, you may not grasp it. A few tips to avoid the above-mentioned problems: GULAG camps were USSR forced labor camps for both usual and "political" criminals. UIA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army, UPA\УПА in Ukrainian)was an independent anti-Soviet nationalist armed entity active in 1942-early 1950's. All the GULAG camp prisoners were unofficially divided into three groups: "Black suit"(stems from cards)- usual criminals like murderers, burglars, thieves (with an exception for rapists, who were treated like garbage), who were following special unofficial criminal law (ponyatia\понятия in Russian). "Red suit" - also usual criminals like mentioned above, who decided to cooperate with camp administration (that automatically makes "Black suit" and "Red Suit" enemies). "Political prisoners" - who were imprisoned for political reasons had neutral relations with both "Suits", with an exception for the cases when "Red Suit" was informing camp administration about prisoner's plans to break the jail. I hope having this information in your mind may help you a lot. Enjoy the film! :)