Citizen X (1995, HBO production) <Amazon Prime>
Follows the story of Andrei Chikatilo, infamous real life serial killer in Russia who killed 52 (or more) people, mostly kids, between 1978 and 1990. Film itself has good acting (Stephen Rea, Donald Sutherland, Jeffrey DeMunn, bit parts by Max von Sydow and Joss Ackland), quality looks like it was shot in the 80's but it is intended to be Russia during the 80's so that works. We follow the killer a bit, but spend a lot of time with the police trying to catch him - specifically Rea as Lt. Viktor Burakov, and how he spends years trying to figure this out while being kneecapped by bueracracy and Communist leaders unwilling to admit there is a serial killer, or that they aren't in control....and by doing so, they remain further out of control and allowing this guy to continue. Film is more focused on the characters, primarily that of the killer and moreso of the cop and what he has to deal with under all this personal and political pressure. Good watch, enlightening on the reality of what happened, and what it was like during the events. No boobs. 6.5/10
Now, I thought I'd already reviewed Child 44 but it seems I didn't write it up. The reason I say this is Child 44 was a fiction based on Andrei Chikatilo, but focused almost solely on the cop.
Child 44 (2015) <Amazon Prime, I think it was>
This one is fictional, but has the same foundational killer at work. However, in this story we follow a demoted police officer sent off to rural Russia who comes across a few killings and starts tying them together as the work of a serial killer. He's also under political pressure, but the killer and his MO as well as the cop and his political situation are significantly different from Citizen X. Here, we are only focused on the cop, and while there is a bit of whodunit to figure out who the killer is - it is mostly immaterial in that you want the cop to solve the crime, stop the killings, and redeem his career. The quality of the filming is 20 years later and it shows, but the acting isn't better, necessarily. Nor is the story or anything else really. From recollection, no boobs. On it's own it can stand for a viewing, but given a choice I'd recommend Citizen X. If you compare them, Citizen X is noticeably better despite being aged. 5.5/10