In Russia, the film “Good Neighbors” was released, but it is full of xenophobia and anti-Semitism.

When the melodrama “Good Neighbors” appeared on the YouTube channel Star Media and Rutube on November 7, 2025, everything seemed perfectly innocent: a story about a courtyard, about people who live nearby, intersect, argue, befriend, and save each other. But literally a few hours after the premiere, the internet exploded — and the film became the subject of heated discussions, memes, and accusations of Nazi narratives.

What the movie seemed to be about

According to the official description, the plot revolves around the kidnapping of ten-year-old Vanya — an event that forces the neighbors to unite. But within the script, another line unexpectedly appears: a book by a certain Oleg Nikitin, frightening the wrongdoers, and attempts to bring the theme of the cult of Ilyich to the screen.

The creators sincerely called the film “a kind family movie.” But viewers saw something completely different — monologues about the “Russian code,” derogatory remarks about other peoples, statements about “purity of roots,” and strange inserts about “psychotronic weapons.”

Why the internet ignited

Social networks quickly picked up fragments where the characters discuss conspiracy theories, “Judeo-Bolsheviks,” and the metaphysics of Russianness. The channel Ateo Blacked called the events “pure Nazi narratives,” after which the film suddenly disappeared from Star Media’s pages.

The disappearance occurred without explanations — only the trailer and separate clips remained online, which only fueled interest in the scandal.

Characters, texts, and the author’s perspective

The focus was on Maria Efremova — the director and screenwriter of the film, a person whose personal worldview is read in every dialogue. She started as a journalist in Novosibirsk, moved into the world of beauty contests and gloss, and later into cinema.

Her first film, “My Main Role in Life” (2013), was a drama, but subsequent projects became noticeably more ideological. On social media, Efremova regularly publishes texts with conspiratorial, nationalist, and patriotic accents — and these motifs are transferred to her films almost without a filter.

Who finances Efremova’s films

The financing of her projects is shrouded in mystery. The director herself claims that she “came into cinematography without money and connections,” and the budget of her projects is formed mainly through product placement. But it is evident that there is support from business structures around her, allowing her to release films, albeit with modest distribution.

Successes that didn’t happen

After the release of “Good Neighbors,” the expectations of a “warm family story” were not met.
Critics note:

– ideological heaviness instead of dramaturgy,
– unnecessary political allusions,
– nationalistic undertones,
– lack of artistic depth,
– fragments that resemble propaganda lectures more than cinema.

Ratings on specialized platforms remained low, and reactions were harsh. But the paradox is that Efremova herself continues to appear in the information field. Her films are discussed, forwarded, quoted. Even the removal of the film from official sources only intensified the effect.

Final emphasis

“Good Neighbors” became not just a melodrama, but an X-ray of the times:
how ideology is masked as a family story,
how cultural markers turn into weapons,
how the online audience instantly exposes falsehood.

The scandal around the film speaks not so much about the quality of the picture as about the state of the Russian cultural environment — stratified, nervous, ready for radicalization.

And in this sense, the disappearance of the film from platforms is just a new chapter, not the end of the story.

NANews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency