Watch Red Penguins

Red Penguins is a 2019 documentary film directed by Gabe Polsky. The film narrates the story of the Pittsburgh Penguins as they become the first American sports franchise to do business with Russia following the end of the Cold War. Knowing almost nothing about the sociopolitical climate of the Soviet Union, North American hockey team owner Howard Baldwin and his group of investors take a risk and purchase the Soviet national hockey team's CSKA, (or Central Sports Club of the Army) Moscow by entering a joint venture with the Russian military.

When the Penguins buy the CSKA Moscow, their initial goal is to capitalize on the Russian group's national and worldwide success. At first, things appear to be going smoothly for both sides as they talk about improving the sport's facilities and adapting to capitalist methods. The film emphasizes cultural clashes between American and Soviet ideologies, as Baldwin and his team struggle against red tape and corruption in the post-Communist USSR.

As the story progresses, the Penguins' new ownership group discovers that the team's operations are based on a system of Mafia-like deals and ice-cold threats of physical violence. Former enforcer Valery Gushin becomes a key figure in the story, controlling the ruthless CSKA Moscow team, and attempting to stay a step ahead of his adversaries.

As it turns out, criminals own much of Moscow's businesses, and the Penguins' new acquisition is no exception. The CSKA Moscow hockey team is controlled by the Russian mobsters who don't take kindly to the American style of management. Through a combination of fear, personal connections, and backroom deals, the Penguins are slowly pushed out of the club they've put so much into.

Howard Baldwin is an individual who invests everything in a project before drawing a single dime from it. As he soon discovers, the Russian business statutes mean that there is no identifiable owner of the club. They're as hidden and fluid as anyone can imagine. There appear to be no rules or regulations, no criteria or criteria, and certainly no checks in place to ensure correct practices. Given the corruption's extent, it was astounding that the Penguins were able to hold out as long as they did.

The movie has an incredible archive of footage, photos, and interviews, offering a fascinating glimpse into a significant historical moment. The legendary Washington Capitals hockey player Alexander Ovechkin is interviewed extensively in the film since his father was a significant figure in the Russian sports world, and Ovechkin grew up in Moscow during the period.

Red Penguins is a mesmerizing and entertaining history lesson for the sports aficionados, hockey lobers or anyone interested in the post-Cold War period in Eastern Europe. The movie provides a behind-the-scenes view of what it means to do business in Russia and how capitalist ventures often play out on the ground in a post-Soviet country. Although the narrative starts as a fun story about ice hockey, it quickly devolves into an epic cautionary tale that implies doing business in Russia might not be for the faint of heart.

In conclusion, Red Penguins is an impressive feat of storytelling which blends documentary footage with cutting-edge visual effects to create a compelling story of post-Cold War Russia. The film's various elements blend together seamlessly to create a fascinating look at business, politics, and sports in the late 20th century. Anyone who can appreciate this period's history and the development of ice hockey should watch this movie.

Red Penguins is a 2020 documentary with a runtime of 1 hour and 20 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 6.8 and a MetaScore of 76.