The Ending
Can anyone explain the meaning of the final scene?
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No.
There's nothing to explain.
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MovieChat Forums > Politist, adjectiv (2009) Discussion > The Ending
Means he goes ahead with the sting operations.
In other words, he agrees that state law is above moral law and it his his duty as a police officer to observe the law without question.
He should have had that clear in his mind from the first day at the Academy. That's why I've always said this movie is totally unrealistic and lacks a real plot.
shareThis is simply an annoying retort.
The whole film is about change and flux and interregnum and people trying to figure out what the definition of things now is in a post-dictatorship society. I was in the Czech Republic immediately after the revolution and saw it first hand. Everyone was improvising. Cristi tells his superiors that things are changing, and he hopes they will see what he can see around him every day. The ending in which Cristi toes the line is artistically and intellectually courageous and uncompromising, if sad. It shows us that, if change can ever come from below, it won't be in our lifetimes. The Arab Spring is interesting, but it won't mean democracies in Islamic countries. Occupy Wall Street is a news item, but it won't stop democracies from not taxing multimillionaires who pay proportionately far less than their secretaries. Look at Cristi's cohort considering different papers before going in to meet the boss.
What we have just seen, when we witness the ending, is a crucial *transition.* Cristi doesn't go along with the sting because he's a communist (nearly none of the people in the former Soviet republics were, either, except those loser-quislings who figured that the best way to profit from Soviet/dictator control was join 'em since they couldn't beat 'em--but that's another story). Cristi goes along with the sting because now, in a capitalist environment, he, like Americans who need health benefits, _wants to keep his job_ (his boss threatens him precisely on this point--you go along or you lose your job--who can't follow or hasn't experienced the realpolitik of this???). The ending, in other words, shows us two political systems and how both can shut down a decent functionary who possesses an intuitive sense of morality, coming or going.
The director's choice to show us no faces or people in the end when the diagram is made is just one more masterstroke in a masterful film. Whether it's the KGB or the Patriot Act, you'll never see the people who can change or end your life in an instant, and you'll never know how and on what bases they made their decisions.
Quendino is 100% correct about what he "should" have in his mind. All policemen should understand their job is to enforce the law of the land, and to obey orders. It doesn't matter if you agree or not. You have a job to do.
But...it's very common nowadays for policemen, especially when they are younger, to use their own feelings instead of following the rules. I think Cristi disobeying orders was wrong, but I don't think it's unrealistic for cops to say "Ah, it's just some kid smoking hash. I'll let it go."
He basically goes against his conscience in the end, carrying out the sting operation. Personally I was expecting him to at least subtly alert the "suspects" of the upcoming "sting" after that (so his conscience stayed somewhat clear and he could keep his job as well) but alas the credits rolled instead.
1/10
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The meaning of the last scene shows the hypocrisy of the System we live under. Cristi displayed the characteristics of a conscientious and morally good man, as a dutiful police officer. However, in the end all the while arguing against the inevitable absurdity that he was attempting to stop from happening (the sting operation) it was just business as usual. Because everyone is pressured or has to follow "procedure" as it became a point of whether he would be employed as a police officer or not, not whether he was doing the right thing or not - and this is a direct reflection of the previous regime under the dictatorship. Cristi has to pay the bills and therefore subsided to doing what he knew was wrong and this is the same old story and why corruption runs rampant throughout the bureaucratic system at large and why further encroachment of police statism is occurring throughout the world. In fact the Captain's rationalization of referring to a dictionary to make an example only prove his own fallacy. Even at one point he accepts all the descriptions and makes up his own understanding by stating "this is what we are" in reference to law enforcers etc... but when the dictionary brings to light police statism and repression he says "ridiculous". This movie is all about the hypocrisy of the way things are in Romania. Just because Communism is long gone, people and the system still has not changed.
shareNo, the meaning of the last scene shows that Cristi finally followed orders and did the job that he took an oath to do. He enforced the law, followed orders, and planned the arrest of drug criminals.
shareHe goes ahead with the sting.
Frankly, I really wanted to see him use some "police brutality" on Alex the squealer...who was obviously setting Victor up...probably as the prosecutor suggested, to get Victor out of the way so he could make a play for the girl.
But while I agree with most of the other comments here, I don't agree with all of them.
There is a certain flexability in what YOU think might have happened. Remember what was said: make the sting, take the statements, and let the pieces fall where they will.
From the time Alex reported him to the police, it was only a matter of time before Victor was arrested. Cristi merely did his job.
Cristi merely did his job.
AKA the "Nuremberg defense". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superior_orders which was ruled unlawful under international law. For an individual in such a situation it is a terrible choice, and although I had hoped it could have been worked out some other way, I can't fault him because I can't be certain that I would not have done the same thing. share
You mean you got to the final scene?
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