Better Than Us
2018
Original language: Russian
- sci-fi & fantasy
- drama
The story
Moscow in a not so distant future where human beings share their daily lives with robots. Georgy, a forensic who has a robot assistant, suddenly finds himself caught up in the first murder committed by a new kind of experimental humanoid.
What it’s like
Cool blue-grey palette and clinical white interiors give this Russian sci-fi series a sterile, faintly uneasy surface, with Moscow's concrete blocks, wet streets and dim apartments shot in a restrained, realistic way. Night scenes lean on cold fluorescent light and screen glow, while daylight stays flat and overcast. The score is sparse and synthetic, with low electronic pulses that leave room for quiet dialogue and long pauses. Its vibe is cool, procedural unease: a grounded crime story where the machines feel ordinary until they don't. The pacing is measured, with slow build-ups rather than set-piece action, and the emotional register is wry and melancholic. Its people are a forensic investigator and his household robot slowly confronting what they mean to each other and to the people around them. Violence is present but not frequent, mostly a few sudden, sharp moments of crime and injury, with some tension and mild menace and no gore emphasis. Suited to viewers who want thoughtful near-future science fiction on a dark evening, and to those drawn to character-led mysteries about artificial life.
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