Red Penguins

So much of "Red Penguins" came as a surprise to me, even though I was an adult during the time period in which it occurred. It seems that after the fall of communism in the old USSR, the once-legendary Russian Army hockey team was in ruins. All their best players had recently defected to the NHL and the team was bankrupt. Amazingly, the Pittsburgh Penguins saw a major opportunity in this, as the plan was to rejuvenate this team with a massive influx of cash and NHL know-how. The film is about how this ultimately failed....and amazingly some of the Russians interviewed blamed the NHL and the United States for this, though the truth lies much closer to home.

The film shocked me how much the film appealed to a wide audience. Some of this is because many of the problems that ruined the Red Penguins are in place today and control Russia today. Well worth seeing and quite engaging.