Chasing a crimson cipher

A gripping Sino-Russian thriller blends history, action and cultural exchange in one of the year's most successful coproductions, Xu Fan reports.

On the frozen surface of Lake Baikal, the horizon dissolves into an endless stretch of blue. More than a natural wonder, the world's largest and deepest freshwater lake has long symbolized the vastness of Russia itself. Against this striking backdrop, a heart-pounding action sequence unfolds in Red Silk, one of the most commercially successful Sino-Russian coproductions to date. A Chinese courier and a Soviet Red Army soldier race across the ice on a yacht, taking a perilous shortcut in pursuit of a speeding train.

For actress Zheng Hanyi, who plays the Chinese messenger Wang Lin, filming the scene alongside Russian actor Gleb Kalyuzhnyy was unforgettable. The sheer scale of Lake Baikal, coupled with the icy wind, made every moment feel otherworldly.

Seven months before its recent Chinese mainland release on Sept 6, the 146-minute movie premiered in Russia on Feb 20, raking in 689 million rubles ($8.24 million) at the local box office from 1.47 million moviegoers, placing it among the top 10 highest-grossing films in Russia this year.

With this year marking the 76th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia, the film is one of the major projects within the framework of the China-Russia Years of Culture in 2024 and 2025, standing as a testament to the growing cinematic cooperation between the two countries.

According to its producer, Vadim Byrkin, the creators researched the relationship between the two countries in the late 1920s, the period when the tale is set, and drew inspiration from several movies, including iconic director Zhang Yimou's espionage thriller Cliff Walkers. The production recruited an international crew of around 170 Russians and 300 Chinese, as well as hiring 1,200 extras for the large-scale scenes.

The plot of Red Silk follows three Chinese couriers who board the Trans-Siberian Express in Shanghai on a mission to deliver secret documents to Moscow — papers that could alter the destiny of both nations.

To ensure the documents' safety, a former Czarist agent and a young Red Army soldier are forced into an unlikely alliance. Their journey quickly turns into a deadly race for survival: they must fend off a band of ruthless train robbers and survive a poisonous gas leak, all while trying to uncover the mastermind behind the escalating conspiracy.

Zheng's character, Wang, is one of the couriers, accompanied by Gao, the elderly leader, and Li Bo, who has carried a lifelong, unspoken love for her. Wang, however, begins to develop a bond with Kalyuzhnyy's soldier. For Zheng, a former stage musical performer, stepping into the role was both daunting and rewarding.