Citizen X (1995) - full transcript

Fresh meat straight
off the farm.

Fresh? This body's a year old.

It's a sort of a joke.

Your predecessor
would have got it.

Yeah, I understand he was funny.

Lazy but funny.

You said something about a farm?

Collective farm number five.

The big field right
next to the...

This girl died in the woods.

I'm sorry, were you about to
say, "Right next to the woods"?



Did you look through them?

No.

Well, better go back
and look through them.

For what?

For something I
can use to identify her.

Her glasses, a cigarette
butt... anything.

If there had been anything like
that, I would have brought it in.

You think we're all lazy?

Go back and search the woods.

- It's after 5:00.
- I don't care what time it is.

Take an extra man. Tell
Sasha it's on my authority.

Comb the area. Look under
every leaf and every tree.

All right, all right.

I get the idea.



Heartless son of a bitch.
What's he trying to prove?

He'll come around. He's new.

Dr. Machinski?

Your turn.

The body's ready for autopsy.

No, there's no question how
the little girl was killed...

Violent blow to the back of...

Shouldn't you do an
autopsy all the same?

Comrade?

Did you help me get this job

so I could do your job
too... is that it?

- Comrade Burakov.
- What is it?

They're coming in with something
for you. They want you to wait.

Tell them tomorrow is
fine. I can't deal with it now.

It's after 9:00.

Who cares what time it is?

Have a nice evening.

Violent blow
to the back of the skull.

Multiple stab
wounds to the face.

On the second body,

as many as 17 stab wounds
to the face and eyes

along with striations
of the eye sockets.

26 wounds to the chest
and breakage suggesting

32 stab wounds with additional
disfigurement to the breasts,

43 stab wounds to the face

along with traces of semen.

On the sixth victim, the
penis has been removed

approximately 2.3cm
above the junction

with some additional disfigurement
of the genital area...

some additional disfigurement...

some additional disfigurement...

additional disfigurement
of a nature that suggests

not so much a sharp
instrument as teeth.

Yesterday, the men of
the Rostov Militia

unearthed eight bodies in different
stages of decomposition.

And you brought the
odors of the grave

into the room with us
as an olfactory aid?

How clever.

I assume the time you devoted
to their examination

was the time you couldn't
spare to get cleaned up.

Next time,

a little less diligence

and a little more hygiene.

In the rather poorly kept
files of my predecessor,

I found records of
seven other bodies.

If you don't mind, comrade,

I would like to start
by introducing you

to the members of the committee.

General Ivanov,

head of KGB for the
Rostov Oblast.

Comrade Dunenkov,

Comrade Tatevsky,

our mayor Comrade Ignatiev,

and of course,
Comrade Bondarchuk,

Secretary for Ideology of
the Oblast Communist Party.

I'm Colonel Fetisov.

I am in charge of the militia

of which your office
is a small part.

I am also secretary
of this committee.

Gentlemen, this is
Comrade Burakov.

He is our new forensics expert.

They are a breed of men

who work in basements
with chemistry sets.

One could hardly blame them
for looking a little startled

when they come out
into the light.

Comrade, please begin.

It's clear that we have a
serial killer on our hands,

already the most prolific
in Russian history.

We'll have to take extreme
methods to stop him.

Did he say a serial killer?

We understood there were wide

discrepancies between
the wounds inflicted.

- That's what you told us, comrade.
- And both boys and girls.

It could be two different men.

It could be a gang.

There are no serial killers
in the Soviet state.

Well, that sounds more like
wishful thinking than...

It is a decadent
Western phenomenon.

Gentlemen, that's all
we have for now.

Thank you for taking time
out of your busy schedules.

I'll keep you abreast
of any developments...

No pun intended.

Welcome to the halls of power.

My God, no wonder
nothing gets done.

In this case, it will.

- Why?
- Because you will be in charge.

What?

You're in charge of the case.

In fact, of the
entire department,

as we technically
don't have one yet.

We have a division of
most serious crimes,

but we'll put you in charge

of the killer department.

"The killer department."

But I'm not even a detective.

I'm a forensics man.

Haven't you always wanted
to be a detective?

Well, yes.

Good. Then you're in charge.

Start by making lists
of the manpower

and logistical support you
think you may require.

Then outline a general approach

to beginning the investigation.

Report back to me tomorrow.

Good day.

Is there something else?

Forgive me, but we reached

the top of the regional
apartment list in forensics...

My wife and two kids.

We've qualified for
a two-bedroom.

We've been waiting
for seven years.

If I take the new job,
do I lose my seniority?

I personally guarantee

that you will get the next
two-bedroom apartment

that becomes
available in Rostov.

All right?

Now go home and tell your
wife about your promotion.

Yes, sir.

Next, a special report on crime.

A deadly combination of heroin
addiction and street crime

is ravaging America's cities,

as even their own
"Time" magazine"...

Okay, let's hear it.

Let's hear what?

If this job is so great,

why are you so upset about it?

I'm supposed to
keep it a secret.

I won't tell a soul.

For God's sake,

you're tracking dirt
all over the place.

- I'm sorry.
- What the hell Have you been doing?

They made me move some
filthy boxes at the factory.

Good afternoon.

I'm from the police.

You are Mrs. Dudzinski.

Da.

It's about your daughter.

Where did you last see her?

It was over a year ago.

I don't remember.

She was your daughter.

How can you not remember
where you last saw her?

Okay.

Did she have friends?

No.

She rode the trains all day.

She was slow.

Did he have friends?

Who?

What were their names?

Did he have habits?

The elektrichka.

Say again?

He rode the elektrichka.

He rode the trains? For fun?

All the time.

He finds them on
the elektrichka!

He finds them on the elektrichka.
I know it.

The elektrichka...

The trains that
crisscross rural Russia.

I know what they are, comrade.

I don't ride them, but
they do sometimes

get in the way of my limousine.

If I was hesitant
in my reaction,

it had only to do

with a big unease.

About what?

The fact that you have only
been a detective for 48 hours

and your intuition is already
so highly developed.

Are you a genius or just given
to bouts of enthusiasm?

I know the killer's method.

He picks up young
people on the trains.

I've been to the station.
They're all there...

The naive, the weak, the slow.

It's over. He's confessed.

What? Who confessed?

Some retard from the
institution at Shakhty.

A gypsy. He's gonna show
them the murder sites now.

What's your problem?

Don't you remember
what you told us?

They're coaching him!

They're experienced detectives.

That's it. That's
where I killed her.

Again, you fucked up.

This is the how many-eth time?
The 12th?

He leaves for an appointment with
his spring supplier's on Tuesday.

Comes back Thursday
saying it went fine,

and Monday I hear
they never saw him.

He never showed up.

Do you have any explanation

for your miserable performance?

I'm gonna take you down

and show you to the
workers on the line,

see what they think of you.

This is the man who stopped
the chain of supply.

This is the man who
stopped our work today.

Have you nowhere to go?

Are you hungry?

I hope this latest murder

puts to rest the idea that
the gypsy boy did it.

Why?

Because he was in custody
when this one was killed.

So what? It could be a gang

of which he was only a part.

We can't discount the
man as a suspect

quite so cavalierly.

He did confess.

I have some requests to make.

We have 16 bodies

and no reason to believe we
found all that are out there.

In my opinion it's a
state of emergency.

And for that reason,

I have to ask for more
men... a lot more.

I also need computers

so that I can start a library
of information about the case.

And I need to communicate with
the FBI Serial Murder Task Force

in Quantico, Virginia,

the largest storehouse
of information

about serials murderers
in the world.

And finally, we need
to publicize the case

as widely as possible:

First, to warn people
of the danger;

Second, to get more of the
unknown bodies identified;

And third, in the hope
of bringing forth

a witness to one of the crimes.

No.

No to what? No to everything?

Are you mad?

There's a maniac out there
who'll kill every child

- in the goddamn district!
- Stop this insolence!

Is there something you
want to say, Colonel?

No, sir.

You handled that quite deftly.

Bondarchuk is a stupid man.

He may be stupid,

but he is in charge.

How can it be that you
don't seem to know

how things work in
the Soviet system?

I know how things work,

but right now there
are 16 dead children

and I want a little
special treatment.

The strength of a
bureaucracy is measured

by its ability to resist giving
anyone special treatment.

I don't appreciate
your sense of humor.

One day you will.

The reason they said
no to your demands

to ask for more men,

or computers for that matter,

is to admit to our
superiors in Moscow

that we are overwhelmed,

which they will never do.

To ask the FBI for help

is to admit to the West
that we are behind

in both forensic techniques
and to managing information,

which they will never do.

And to publicize the
case is to admit

that such crimes exist
in the Soviet Union,

which is the one thing they
would rather die than do...

Publicly admit that
anything is wrong.

The only way that I have been
able to get anything done

is behind closed doors...

By hoarding favors, by
bribing, by wheedling.

But that will take time!

- It always does.
- Only in this case people will die.

People will die,

and it will take all our strength
to suffer these outrages,

but suffer them we must

because we're the people who
have to catch this monster,

Comrade Burakov, you and I.

As you may have noticed,

no one else is even
willing to try.

Good day.

You care about nothing but
making your superiors happy.

You're right. I should spend more
time trying to alienate them.

Perhaps you could teach me.

You say you and I have
to catch this monster.

What you mean is that
it's up to me, isn't it?

That's why a beginner's
a perfect choice.

If I fail, I'll be dangling
out there by myself.

Happy birthday, Nadia.

Happy birthday.

Hello.

Are you trying to sabotage
what we're doing here?

Does he understand he's
supposed to be undercover?

He's supposed to let the
killer feel comfortable,

let him try to pick somebody up.

Did you think wearing
your uniform would help?

It was freezing when he
got here this morning.

- So what?
- It's his only warm coat.

My brother-in-law
has a warm coat.

I'm sure I can
borrow it tomorrow.

I'd have borrowed it today but...

Give me the coat.

Take it.

I'll get it back later

when we solve the case.

In the year since we
discovered the first bodies,

we've found six more

and interviewed 800
potential witnesses.

For all that, we
have no suspect.

In fact, all we've
been able to do

is discredit the theory that a gang
of retardates from the institute

could have been involved.

And according to some of
the people in this room,

we haven't even been
able to do that.

If you continue to forbid
us to publicize the case,

I can't honestly say when I
expect our luck to change.

You're saying you know
less than when you began.

Not exactly.

Bring in Gorbunov.

Gentlemen, this is
Comrade Gorbunov,

special prosecutor from Moscow.

Sit down, comrade.

Thank you.

Gentlemen, without wishing to
embarrass anyone in particular,

I must tell you that
I've been sent here

to take over this investigation

because of its poor focus
and slipshod execution.

My superiors in
Moscow agree with me

that we should drop the train
station surveillance immediately,

not only because it's costly
in terms of man-hours,

but also because
it hasn't produced

a single viable
suspect in a year.

And because, and I say this

with all due respect
to my predecessor,

it's based exclusively
on one man's intuition.

Well, I'm afraid that's
not good enough anymore.

As of now,

we'll run this investigation
as professionals.

As of now, standing around
is no longer our style.

Aggressive pursuit is.

We'll aggressively
pursue suspects,

concentrating primarily
on known sexual deviants,

for the obvious reason that they
fit the nature of the crimes.

And particularly on homosexuals,

going to the fact that there are so
many young boys among the victims.

And we'll concentrate to a lesser
extent on doctors and surgeons

because of the precision
of the eviscerations.

Does that sound
satisfactory to everyone?

- I object most firmly...
- Very satisfactory.

Extremely satisfactory.

I particularly like the idea

of investigating
known homosexuals.

I think it's the best
idea we've heard

in the rather pathetic
history of this case.

We want to thank you,
Comrade Gorbunov.

We understand you will
only stay in the area

for another day or so.

I trust you will
have enough time

to get Burakov's team pointed
in the right direction

before you go back to Moscow.

- I'm sure I will.
- Good then.

We're done here, I think.

Are we not?

Good then.

You heard him.

He'll be here for 24 hours
and then he leaves.

We still run the
day-to-day operation.

In a bureaucracy, it
is important to know

which skirmishes to join
and which to ignore.

Get up!

We are developing quite
a network of informants

among the city's
homosexual community.

For what that's worth.

I found it fascinating
that Secretary Bondarchuk

was so vehement about
pursuing them,

- didn't you?
- No.

There is a whole world full
of gossip and innuendo

out there to explore,
Comrade Burakov.

Perhaps if you took an interest,

you would be a little
more light of heart.

You think a man is what he says,

don't you, Colonel?

He is if he talks for a living.

A man is what he fights for.

Well, I don't fight
for anything.

I know.

He's a doctor with a reputation,

if you know what I mean.

Just as I suspected, comrade.

It's fornication. I
made some drawings.

Take them in.

- Seriously?
- Take them in.

Why are we arresting

so many perfectly
respectable doctors?

Because we were told to.

You were told to
investigate them,

not necessarily to detain them.

The doctors who are party members
we detain as briefly as possible.

The sexual deviants
who are party members

we tend to keep a little longer.

Of all the arrogance!

I'll speak to the men
about it, comrade.

I'll take care of it.

Why aren't you
investigating policemen,

Comrade Burakov, eh?

Wouldn't you say
they know more about

getting away with murder
than any other group?

Wouldn't you say that you yourself
would make a good suspect?

I know it's late. I'm sorry.

I wasn't asleep.

Bondarchuk suspects a cop now,

someone who knows how to
kill and get away with it.

I suppose it's a possibility.

The one he suspects is me.

That's absurd.

I'm afraid, though.

You know what he's like.

Someone could come in the
night and take me away.

If you knew they were
coming on Friday,

what would you do different
this week at work?

Nothing.

Good.

Eat.

Pathetic.

Where are you going all dressed up?
It's Saturday.

I have some work.

A trip I have to take for work

to make up for something
I failed to do.

Why doesn't that surprise me?

I have some vodka in my bag.

Will that do?

Use your hands, for God's sake.

Help me in.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Are you okay?

This one must have
pissed him off.

Hmm.

A little respect for the dead!

I want every piece of garbage

within 200 yards of
here checked out

for fingerprints, fibers
and bodily fluids...

Every can, every bottle.
Do you understand me?

If we're gonna fail, it won't be
because of something we left undone.

Do you understand what
I'm saying, God damn it?

Shh. I'll shake them up for you.

I'll get them working.

Okay, let's move out.

- Is he serious?
- Has he gone crazy?

Keep moving. If you see anything
interesting, you let me know.

Please stand, citizen.

- Chikatilo.
- May I have your bag?

Citizen Chikatilo,
you're under arrest.

I was on my way home.

I talk to the young people

because I used to be a teacher.

I always talk to young people.

I... I had rope and
a knife in my bag

because I work in a factory

and often need them.

What do you think?

Personally?

I don't think he's
savage enough,

but what do I know?

I have some more
paperwork to do.

- Stay after him, all right?
- Absolutely.

I have a suspect.

What is it?

Blood test came back negative.

What?

Semen samples are type AB.

Chikatilo is type A.

- I don't believe it.
- It's true.

What are you talking
about, it's true?

What does that mean?

Our blood test is for 11 variables.
The FBI's is for 149.

How do you know that?

I saw it in a movie!

What the hell difference does it
make what the blood test says?

You don't know what
you're talking about.

Comrade Burakov,

are you aware that your prisoner is
a member of the Communist Party?

Is he not aware that this man is
a party member in good standing?

Are you or are you not aware...

Of course I'm aware
of it, comrade.

I'm a detective, remember?
You approved my appointment.

And you're holding him anyway?

As is my right.

After his blood test
came back negative?

Who told you that?

What difference does it make?

- Did you tell him?
- What difference does it make?

It makes a difference to me.

Let him go.

Now.

Let him go or suffer
the consequences.

Colonel!

Release citizen Chikatilo.

Burakov's office.

No, not yet.

Strange, it's worse not finding
bodies than finding them.

Shh.

At least each time we
found another body

we had another chance to find
a fingerprint or witness.

This way I'd rather find three
at a time than none in a year.

Let's get out of here.

Let's go to work.

What happened to the boy?

He's in a holding
cell downstairs.

He's not connected
to the murders,

but he did give us a fascinating
little piece of gossip.

- Then we let him go.
- What?

- We let him go.
- Why?

Why not? He gave you
your goddamn gossip.

Why can't you just let him go?

I'm sorry.

Please, let's show
him some mercy.

He's a victim, not a criminal.

He's a child.

All right, go ahead.

But don't get anyone
else involved.

Thank you.

I'll do it myself.

They're ready.

You'd rather find three
bodies than none.

You'd rather find citizens dead

if it would make
your job easier?

Have you become that perverse?

I do not think this is a
fruitful line of inquiry.

I do.

Viktor Vasilovich Burakov,

do you stand by these remarks?

Do you stand by the statement

that you would rather
find bodies than not?

Is this man crying?

Is the man to whom
we've entrusted

the safety of our
children crying?

Mrs. Burakova?

Mikhail Fetisov.

I have your husband here.
He's having a problem.

Yes. Yes, yes, I know.

I have arranged for him

to take a vacation
at a rest-cure.

Can I persuade you to
come and pick him up?

Replace him.

No.

What was that?

What did you say?

After five straight years
on the same assignment,

Lieutenant Burakov is
taking his first vacation.

His job will be waiting for
him when he comes back.

Get out.

All of you! Right now!

If you ever again
contradict me in front of...

- I have here...
- I don't care what you have there!

- Information...
- Who cares?! I'm head of...

of the 19-year-old boy

you maintain in the
town of Shakhty...

and the apartment you
have arranged for him

and the gifts that
you have given him

and the dates of your last
three overnight visits.

If you intend to fire
Lieutenant Burakov

now or at any time

I will send all
this to your wife.

I recommended you
for this position.

I will always be
indebted to you.

- Haircut!
- What's happening, baby?

- Where have you been, huh?
- I've been in there.

- You standing tall?
- Sure, I'm clean.

Oh, man. Who are
you, Dick Tracy?

- I said I was clean!
- I'm not gonna get stuck, am I?

- No, I said I'm clean!
- If I do, you know what happens.

I said I'm clean.

Hey, man!

I'll kick your
motherfucking ass!

Colonel Fetisov stopped
by with a ham.

A whole ham? Where
did he get a ham?

He's very well connected.

I bet he knows everyone in pork.

He's very proud of himself
for defending you.

I think he feels he's finally
earned your respect.

Has he?

Will you tell him when
you go back to work?

I think it would
mean a lot to him.

I knew I could talk you into it.

Lieutenant Burakov,
you're 10 days early.

I feel much better.

I'm glad. You haven't been home?

I came here first.

I wanted to thank you

for taking care of my
family while I was away.

And for saving my job.

You were right about knowing
which skirmishes to ignore.

Not really.

It's just you spend enough
time with the lion,

the idea of roaring starts to
seem more and more reasonable.

There's something I
wanted to ask you about.

What's that?

While I was away, I spoke
to a psychiatrist.

I'd like to bring
one into the case.

Maybe he'd have some insight.

You are aware, I am sure,

that never in the history
of the Soviet Union

has a psychiatrist been
brought into a murder case.

I know.

You'll be the first.
You'll make history.

What?

Did you just come in here

and go out of your way
to make me feel good

then ask me for something?

My God, are you learning
how to manipulate people?

I've created a monster.

What about the psychiatrist?

I'll see what I can
do, all right?

Thank you.

Now do you want to go home

or do you want to try
and ease back into it?

- Come in.
- Colonel, there's a...

- It's all right.
- There's another body in the woods.

Your timing is impeccable.

I'm ready.

What was that about?

He likes to examine
the terrain a little

before the rest of
us get in there

and stomp around too much.

That's smart, huh?

He doesn't do too much dumb.

So you would say that
he is a good detective?

I would say that I've never
worked with anyone as good.

Excuse me.

Can I tell you the order
of events here, Colonel?

We start with any physical evidence
on or adjacent to the body.

Make a cast of this.

I will have it on
your desk by 6:00.

I know it's irregular, but
I hope one or two of you

will be interested enough in what
we've said today to get involved.

If you are, please stay.

Thank you.

It is embarrassing
to see grown men

run from their responsibilities.

It is like seeing your parents
drunk for the first time.

They are afraid.

To be a psychiatrist
in this country

is to be an expert on paranoia,

whether you meant to be or not.

Why aren't you afraid?

I'm sorry.

Do I look like a man
of courage to you?

I'm Bukhanovsky.

Bukhanovsky.

I've always been interested
in abnormal psychology,

which is a dangerous thing
in the Soviet state.

Anyway, I was fascinated

by the pattern of
disfigurements you described.

I'd like to try to
help, but discreetly.

I'd like to think
about it awhile

and then write my ideas
down if I have any

and send them along.

Does that sound all right?

Good.

I'd like to be as
cautious as possible

when risking my career.

Oh, my God,

being a hero is
enormously taxing.

I've only been doing it for
seven or eight minutes,

and already I feel
strangely enervated.

You...

What is it?

You must live with a
great deal of pressure.

It's all right,
though, you know.

What is?

Suffering over all this,
all these horrors.

If we didn't suffer over them,
we'd be monsters ourselves.

I read the
whole thing last night.

It's intuitive, well defended.

Little chance that
he's a homosexual.

A man with a wife and kids.

And a sexual problem.

And maybe a job working
with young people.

A worker in a children's
home, a teacher.

We'll have to have someone go
through the card file again.

This is interesting speculation,

but certainly not conclusive
enough to persuade me

to change the goals
of the investigation.

Not the goals, comrade,
just the methods.

We'll continue
arresting homosexuals.

Even if it doesn't
directly contribute

to the resolution of the case,

we'll still be doing
society a service.

Repeating our top story...

Under the new policy
of Perestroika,

Soviet leaders agreed
yesterday to surrender

the party's 72-year
monopoly on power.

American president George
Bush cabled the chairman

to congratulate him on his
commitment to democratic reform

and to assure him that the hopes
of the American people are with us

as we chart a new course
of the Soviet state.

Thank you.

Will it change things?

I don't know yet.

I've been on the telephone
since midnight.

Just keep at it, all right?

Then we'll see.

Can you get him for me?

We have to talk.

No, not now. Tomorrow
at the office.

Why? What is it?

Tomorrow morning.

Don't make me suffer, Colonel.

There'll be a new head of the
investigation by tomorrow morning.

Come to the committee room at
8:00 and we'll meet him together.

- Who is it?
- It's not decided yet.

I'm flying to Moscow right now to see
if I can influence their decision.

That's what I stopped
to tell you.

Don't start worrying yet.

Have I ever let you down?

Thank you so much
for your support.

I'll see you tomorrow morning.

Good luck.

- Where are they?
- Who?

- The committee?
- We're it.

Who's the new head of
the investigation?

You.

Congratulations, Colonel.

Well, actually,

I'm a general now.

I don't have my insignia yet,

but they are on order.

Congratulations, General.

You are a colonel.

Congratulations, Colonel.

Now sit down. Let's get started.

I am now the prefect of the
militia for the entire oblast,

reporting only to Moscow.

I can allocate resources
any way I see fit,

and I am considering this
case my highest priority.

You need men, you
need publicity,

you need communications...

You have it.

I got these in Moscow yesterday.

They're fantastic.

You have a telephone appointment

tonight at midnight

to speak with the head of the
FBI's Serial Murder Task Force,

Special Agent Bickford.

He told me late last night

that he has been following
your work on this case

with great interest
for about five years.

I didn't ask him how.

He considers you a
man of iron will.

For what it's worth, I concur.

He also told me

that he rotates his people
off serial-murder cases

every 18 months whether
they like it or not

to prevent the inevitable
psychological consequences

of too much frustration.

I-I pretended that I had
known that all along.

He thinks that I pushed you and
pushed you in search of your limits

until I realized that
you didn't have any.

Privately,

I offer my deepest apologies
to you and your wife.

I hope that someday

you can forgive me my ignorance.

Anyway, he suggested I
not tell you this next,

but he said that he starts

a new group of recruits
through the program

every 16 weeks,

and the first lecture that he
gives is always about you.

He calls you the one
man in the world

that he would least
like to have after him,

an intelligent,
methodical, painstaking,

passionate detective who would
rather die than give up.

Again, I concur.

Colonel Burakov, I'm sorry.

You may go.

I have a plan.

I've been thinking about
it for a long time.

We intend to have

a visible, uniformed presence

24 hours a day

in every single train station

within 50 miles of Rostov...

Every station except three,

the three smallest stations
on the Matyev line

and the Kapman Forest.

There we will have
only undercover men.

There we want him to
make his next attempt

to kill one of our children.

In order for this plan to work,

we need you to do a job.

We need you to accost
anyone who stops

to talk to a child
or a young woman,

anyone who stops to talk
to any stranger at all.

We need you to demand
their identity cards

and ask their business

and take down their answers
in your notebooks.

We need you to search them,

and above all, we need
you to do this visibly.

We need everyone in the
station to notice.

Understand?

What's that? I didn't hear that.

Yes, Comrade General.

Again.

Yes, Comrade General.

Do you think you are capable
of performing these tasks?

Yes, Comrade General.

Do you think you are capable of
performing them without subtlety?

Yes, Comrade General.

- Without discretion?
- Yes, Comrade General.

- Without tact?
- Yes, Comrade General.

Good.

It wasn't long ago

that if a cop took this
big a chance and failed,

he would have been shot.

For your sake, I hope it works.

Don't worry. I won't
let them shoot you.

Not without a trial.

Well, we started well,

but we're only seven weeks in
and already we're getting lazy.

I have a report here from one
of your stations that reads,

"No suspicious characters
in three days."

Three days! The whole
idea is to stay visible.

Surprise inspection.
You want to come?

All I'm saying is keep
the pressure on, okay?

And I'll let you in
on a little secret...

Surprise inspection
in half an hour.

Tell your men.

It does defeat the
purpose of a surprise.

Just for that station.
You have to give them

a little sugar once
in a while, anyway.

Your interrogation slips.

Very good.

Your interrogation slips.

Get up here.

Dress yourself.

I had to go to the toilet.

I was gone no longer
than five minutes.

Give me your
interrogation slips.

Why so many?

They're from... since Friday,

all through the holiday weekend.

How long have you been here?

36 hours.

You have no relief?

No, sir. My partner got sick

and they didn't send anyone
else from the station

because of the holiday.

Let's look through
these, shall we?

No harm done.

You can send these along with the
rest of today's when you're relieved.

What is it?

Did you personally
speak to this man?

Yes, sir.

- Why?
- He came up out of the woods,

and there was dirt
on his jacket.

He was well dressed,
but he was dirty,

so I asked him his business.

He said he'd visited
his mother in Belkov,

which is a tiny
hamlet near here.

Which makes sense,

except I was born in Belkov
and I didn't remember her.

So I wrote him up.

Did you search him?

No, sir.

He hadn't accosted anyone.
He just looked odd.

Do you remember this name...

Chikatilo?

Did he have a bag?

Yes.

Consider yourself
relieved of this post.

Take my car to the
station immediately.

Tell them to cable Moscow.

I want 200 soldiers here

prepared to search these
woods in one hour.

- Got it? One hour.
- Yes, sir.

God damn it.

What is happening to me?

My heart is pounding.
My collar feels tight.

What the hell is this?

Passion.

General, they've
found something.

Step back, comrade.

You've done your part.
Thank you.

Get the team together,

then start sending
the soldiers home,

unless the general has
some other use for them.

I have 49 of them
on my conscience.

You mustn't blame yourself.

It's not that.

What then?

She's my cousin's daughter,

Natasha Dunenkova.

She was eight.

I'm sorry.

You'll be okay?

Do you want me to send
someone over here?

For what it's worth,

you may have helped
us catch him.

Just keep walking.

How did you do this?

At work. A box fell
on me at work.

Sign, please.

Would you mind removing
all your clothes, please?

- What?
- Remove your clothes.

How did you get these abrasions
on the head of your penis?

How did you get these abrasions
on the head of your penis?

I don't know.

Can you honestly tell me
that you feel no remorse?

Not for killing children?

Not for cutting off
their genitals?

Don't you feel the urge to
confess to your crimes?

My God, man, are you not human?

This is a disaster.

- Why can't we just...
- Because we can't.

He demanded to do the
interrogation himself,

and he still has a
lot of friends.

I'll talk about my
crimes tomorrow.

What's that? Repeat that.

I'll tell about my
crimes tomorrow,

but I'm exhausted today.

Did you get that?

Good.

Now it's in the official record.

We're not getting anywhere.

What are you talking about? Didn't
you hear what he just said?

He said that yesterday, too.

It's the only way he knows to
get you to stop badgering him.

What do you want?

I want you to let us

bring in someone who can
get somewhere with him.

- I'm doing the interrogation.
- You're wasting time.

Five days already with
no other evidence.

If we do not get a
confession by the 28th,

we have to let him go.

I'm doing the interrogation.

Are you willing to take that
risk just to satisfy your ego?

You handled him quite deftly.

I've had it.

I will not suffer that
stupidity anymore.

He may be stupid,
but he's in charge.

What is this?

This is your confession?

In 1978, you fondled the
breast of an 11-year-old girl?

- Are you mocking me?
- It's true.

I don't give a
damn if it's true.

We're talking about murder
here, you know that.

You think I'm a fool?

I was fired from my teaching
job for this incident...

I know that!

What the hell kind of
game are you playing?

Citizen Chikatilo, I
asked you a question.

Tomorrow is our last day. We
will have to let him go...

You think I don't know that?

If you appoint the man
who gets him to confess,

won't that reflect
happily on your wisdom?

Whom do you have
in mind, Colonel?

I've never done this before.
I'm terrified.

I'm Bukhanovsky. I'm
a psychiatrist,

and I...

I-I wrote a paper about
you three years ago.

I called you "Citizen X."

I'm sure a lot of it
is wildly incorrect.

Would you like me
to read it to you?

Pardon me?

Yes.

Please.

There's some
introductory rubbish

designed to make me
sound brilliant.

We can ignore that in
here, I should think.

"Citizen X has probably had

a tendency towards
isolation since childhood.

His internal world,
filled with fantasy,

is closed to those around him,

even those close to him.

The adolescence of such a
person is, as a rule, painful

because he is often subjected
to the laughter of his peers

and at a time when
success among them

is the subject of
his secret dreams.

His sexuality is not noticeable
to those around him,

however it is an
external asexuality

that frequently coincides
with steady masturbation

and bright erotic fantasies.

He is painfully
sensitive in company,

incapable of flirting
and courtship.

However, it cannot be excluded

that he has fathered a family.

There is reason to think

that Citizen X has a
weakness of sexual potency.

This is supported by the fact

that signs of entry
of the sexual organ

into the sexual paths
of the victims

have been found in nine cases,

but that in only two,

the length of contact has been
sufficient to reach orgasm,

with the rest of the cases
involving ejaculation

on the body of the victims.

He sits or squats
astride his victim.

The orgasm and ejaculation
most likely occur

at this stage of the act
and in this position,

"sitting on the victim in
the period of her agony."

"The blinding of
some of the victims

could be a symbol of his
power over the partner

or an inability to
bear his or her gaze,

even if it is unconscious,

or possibly a reflection
of excess belief

in the folktale that
the victim's eyes

retain an image of the killer,

"even after death."

It is the last, is it not?

You believe the police might
see your image in their eyes.

What about the ejaculation?
Was I right about that...

Sitting on the victim in
the period of her agony?

You ejaculated while
stabbing them.

I ejaculated

while stabbing them.

Sometimes before they died,

sometimes after.

With or without
additional masturbation?

Usually with.

And that accounts for the
abrasions on your own organ...

The frenzied masturbation.

With the last one especially.

Natasha Dunenkova.

After killing her,

I still had some...

difficulty.

I hurt myself trying
to achieve release.

Congratulations, gentlemen.

He'd say something witty,

but he's overcome with
emotion right now.

Thank you, both.

May I say that together

you make a wonderful person.

Give us the monster!

We will bring him to justice!

Stand aside.

Stand aside, damn it!

You should thank them,
for God's sake!

These are the men
who caught him.

Step through the door, please.

Please don't turn around.