The 6 Best Russian Suspense Thriller Movies

Sometimes the best suspense thriller movies come from unexpected places, and Russia has been producing some amazing thrillers of late, many of which have never been shown in the United States before. Here are ten of the best Russian suspense thriller movies you can watch on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video right now!

1) Hard to be a God

Hard to be a God is a 1997 film directed by Aleksei German, based on the science fiction short story The Last Trap by Andrey Valentinov. The full title of the original novel is Hard to Be a God. It was filmed in the Kaluga region and in its picturesque locations: Moscow Kremlin, Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra, Vazhny Novgorod.

This film takes place in a distant future on an unnamed planet (so-called Garden of Creation) where civilization has arisen and with it, monarchy. It features elements of fantasy, mystery, melodrama, and social satire.

The screenplay is based on a science fiction short story The Last Trap (Hard to Be a God) by Andrey Valentinov published in 1966. The novel has been praised as one of the best SF works of Soviet literature and its author was awarded many times.

2) Asphalt

There are many Russian suspense thriller movies and series which have been made since then, but Asphalt is still considered to be one of their best. Directed by Alexander Naidinov in 2002, it is a crime-thriller about a KGB agent named Stepan Grigorich. It follows his involvement in investigating two murders in Moscow and both his professional life and personal life with his family.

The series consists of three episodes, each of which has different sub-plots and themes. It was well-received by critics upon its release and remains a cult classic in Russia. If you enjoy foreign suspense thriller movies, then you should definitely watch Asphalt – at least for one episode!

Based on Leonid Tsypkin’s novel of a similar name, it follows all of Grigorich’s crimes, investigations, and punishments in a Soviet Russian setting. This suspense thriller is guaranteed to keep you on your toes for three whole hours!

3) Black Lightning

Directed by Russian director Andrei Merzhanov, Black Lightning follows a team of scientists who discover a way to make animals invisible. Unfortunately, their experiments fail and a secret military program turns them into invisible super-soldiers. The military uses them to fight terrorists, but quickly realizes these super-soldiers can’t be controlled or turned off and begin using them for evil purposes.

One is captured by a terrorist group and converted into an invisible suicide bomber. It is up to Russian intelligence officer Oleg Kotov to save the day. He must use his knowledge of Russia’s greatest hero – Russian folklore hero Ivan Tsarevich, or Ivan Tsar? (Prince Ivan) – in order to save Russia from attack by its own army.

Ivan Tsarevich is well known in Russian culture as a young boy who turned into a beautiful swan, hence his nickname the Tsar-Bird. Kotov knows that Ivan’s ability to see through walls may help him stop Black Lightning before it causes more deaths. This movie has been described as Die Hard with animals and does contain some graphic scenes of violence and terrorism; but is told from an action thriller perspective.

If you want a plot twist at every turn and nonstop suspense, Black Lightning will deliver just that. It also contains gorgeous Russian landscapes for fans of Russian literature to enjoy watching along with an exciting storyline if you aren’t familiar with Russian history or culture beforehand.

4) Bullet to the Head

Bullet to the Head (2012) – What happens when a simple Russian cop and a Korean American hitman meet? Exactly what you’d expect: an explosion of bullets to the head. This dark, satirical crime thriller stars Sylvester Stallone and Jason Momoa as two unlikely partners who are hell-bent on getting revenge for their murdered families. Bullet to the Head is directed by Walter Hill, who also wrote the script based on comic book characters created by Alexis Nolent and Matz.

As we learn in an opening sequence, Jimmy Bobo (Jason Momoa) is a hitman who gets betrayed by his partner, Blake (Jon Seda), and shot dead in front of his wife. Many years later, Dad-to-be Jimmy is resurrected by an FBI agent/best friend Taylor Kwon (Sung Kang) to track down and kill Blake—the actual killer of Jimmy’s family. Luckily for them, they stumble upon New Orleans cop Marcus Stigman (Sylvester Stallone), who has been tracking Blake for a long time for reasons he doesn’t quite understand. Marcus joins forces with Jimmy and Taylor to track down their mutual enemy, but it isn’t easy as there are plenty of obstacles in their way.

The unlikely trio travel to New Orleans, where they meet hitman to hitmen Winston (Jon Bernthal), who offers his services for hire. Meanwhile, Blake takes a detour from business to give Taylor a few bullets of his own—while Jimmy watches from afar, wanting nothing more than revenge.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and Jimmy’s time in New Orleans does as well. While on their way back to Washington, D.C., Marcus gets a call from his informant telling him that Jimmy’s location has been found. Now he must face his enemy head-on and decide what side he is really on in order to get his revenge.

5) Moscow Never Sleeps

This 2002 film by Karen Shakhnazarov is about a bumbling Moscow cop (played by director Karen Shakhnazarov) in search of a missing schoolboy—and features enough suspense, dark humor, and wit to more than makeup for its minor shortcomings. Although it gets lost amidst some of cinema’s best thrillers, Moscow Never Sleeps still deserves at least one viewing on any serious fan’s list. And that is why I have chosen it as my #1.

Moscow Never Sleeps is a top Russian suspense thriller movie that will keep you at the edge of your seat. It's a small-town drama that takes place in Moscow and it shows how two very different people from opposite ends of Russian society are brought together by their respective traumas.

6) Holy Motors

Leos Carax co-wrote and directed Holy Motors, a 2012 French art-house film. It stars Denis Lavant as an actor who embodies different characters while working on a film with apparent similarities to Carax’s own previous works. The script is written in first-person narrative and divided into six chapters, connected by car rides.

This film was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in English. This is probably Carax’s most unconventional movie, so if you’re looking for conventional storytelling, you’d better look elsewhere.

If you’re familiar with Carax’s previous works, you can immediately see that his style is still very much intact. The movie follows an actor who embodies different characters while working on a film with apparent similarities to Carax’s own previous works. Even though his character never speaks, he manages to get across most of his thoughts through body language and facial expressions.