One of the first films to expose the shadow economy that had tied criminals to corrupt Soviet officials, Vladimir Sukhobokov’s Ночной патруль (US: Night Guard) is a kind of police procedural noir that follows the exploits of Kazimir Nezhuk (Grigori Kirillov), the respected head of the wholesale base who lives a double life as a famed criminal called “Baron” siphoning cash from the trade network under his control. When his accountant Nikoforov (Yevgeni Gurov) discovers a math discrepancy and tracks it to the sixth branch, the sudden attention compels someone to blast open the branch’s safe and steal documents and cash. Here’s where Police Commissioner Krechetov (Lev Sverdlin) enters the picture, following clues from house to house, ultimately targeting Pavel Obruchev (Mark Bernes), a noted criminal nicknamed “Ogonyok” who recently returned to the USSR repentant for his crimes but whose clean slate won’t clear him from Krechetov’s natural suspicions. The stakes skyrocket when two corpses show up. Not commonly found in Soviet films of this period, the noir style dominates most of the exterior scenes where streets at night are eternally rain-soaked, foggy, and lamplit, and where the stabbing of a “night guard” officer takes place on a remote country road. Sukhobokov and crew inject plenty of artistry in the composition of shots, utilizing deep focus to add emotional dimension (note, for example, the view of the nightclub chanteuse from inside a canopied VIP table) and even playing with special effects, like when the photograph in Krechetov’s hands slowly morphs into a flashback episode and then back again.