The Mark of Cain

The documentary takes Russian prison tattoos as its subject. These tattoos are not decoration. Each of them carries a meaning. They show where a man has been held, what he did and whom he answers to. Wearing the wrong tattoo is counted dangerous. For a long time the subject was not spoken of in the country. The filming was done in high security prisons. Among them is the place known as the White Swan. Prisoners, guards and specialists speak. The language of the tattoos is explained one by one. The order known as the thieves’ code is set out as well. The practice is slowly disappearing. The reason for that is the country’s own change. The seventy three minute documentary keeps a record of that language, an American production Alix Lambert finished in 2001.