I’ve uploaded my first YouTube video — a scene from Kin-Dza-Dza. The ruckus between police Sgt. James Crowley and Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. reminded me of this scene.
There has been talk about how it’s important to be polite and respectful to police. If you mouth off, they might arrest you for disorderly conduct. In the movie, the people on Planet Pluke, whether Chatlanian or Patsaki, are respectful to the police, who are corrupt and expect bribes and who also expect the visible signs of respect you see at 00:45.
But then Uncle Vova blows up at them and demands that they do their duty. And instead of arresting him for disorderly conduct, the police officer backs down.
I have a vague recollection that there are other Russian films, including others from the Soviet days, in which citizens get angry at police officers and criticize their conduct, demanding that they do their assigned duties. I can’t remember just where I saw them, but I do remember being surprised that people in a police state would talk to the police this way. Of course, there are many other films in which people are afraid of the police.