How others will see it. This film could be an eye-opener for Western intellectuals, who might be only dimly aware that Russia is a state-controlled country, less open economically than China. It is partly capitalistic, but the Kremlin, through the politically savvy Putin, controls the economy, the media, and all branches of government.
The average viewer will be more interested in the Red October-style cause of the Kursk's demise, which is of Cold War origin, and less interested in Putin's handling of the crisis, which is a lesson in how clever dictators achieve lasting power.
How I felt about it. The cover story of the Kursk tragedy told a tale of Russian incompetence. An obsolete torpedo in cargo exploded. After the submarine sank, it took too long for the Russian Navy to find. Technologically unable to retrieve the sailors themselves, and too proud to ask for foreign help, Putin fiddled while Rome burned, and any sailors left alive onboard expired from lack of oxygen.
This documentary reveals that this cover story was almost completely false. In fact, two U.S. submarines were dispatched to intimidate the new high-tech submarine. Tensions rose, and the first U.S. submarine rammed the Kursk. The second U.S. sub launched a torpedo, which sunk the Kursk.
Fortunately, Putin and then-President Clinton were level-headed enough to work out a deal. the U.S. paid substantial reparations in the form of cancelled debts and fresh loans. A cover story was concocted that removed U.S. culpability. Whenever Russian press published evidence that contradicted the government line, responsible journalists were intimidated in various ways. Soon, Putin gained control of internal media, and was rewarded with increased popularity, since people generally want to believe what they are told. It's the easier road to take, particularly under a dictatorship.
The government lies were needed to defuse the crisis, and obtain favorable foreign concessions. Russian people would have clamored for war if the true cause of the sinking was known. The remaining soldiers lives were forfeit to ensure their silence.
Clinton, whose VP Gore was in the heat of an election campaign, did not want to acknowledge that a navy he commanded had provoked World War III. Curiously but perhaps wisely, the documentary doesn't cover this angle, and concentrates on the Russian reaction.
The aftermath of Putin's coverup is also explored. In short, Putin skillfully shuts down political opposition, through arrests and (it is alleged) assassinations. Bush is depicted as complicit in this effort. Again, the reasons for this aren't explored, but one suspects Bush (or more likely, his handlers) instead focused on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which offered (in the short term) political gains. Confronting Putin, whose actions were internal, was apparently never considered.
The question is, what will happen if Russia's enormous state-controlled military is subject to a less capable successor than Putin? The worst case would be a Hitler-like individual who seeks to re-acquire former Soviet client states, such as the Ukraine or Georgia. A nuclear-armed dictator poses great danger to the world.