# In the Face of Crime (2010)

> A German crime drama following police and Russian mafia figures battling for control of Berlin's underworld.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/34152

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 10
- Episode runtime: 45 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: Rolf Basedow
- Network: Das Erste
- Cast: Max Riemelt, Ronald Zehrfeld, Marie Bäumer, Mišel Matičević, Alina Levshin, Arved Birnbaum, Uwe Preuss, Ulrike C. Tscharre
- TMDB rating: 8.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1223917/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: gritty, tense, sober, bleak, serious

## Synopsis

In the Face of Crime (Im Angesicht des Verbrechens) (2010) is a German crime drama miniseries created by Rolf Basedow for Das Erste, broadcast alongside ARTE. Across ten episodes of roughly forty-five minutes each, it follows the uneasy collision between Berlin police investigators and the Russian mafia operating in the city's streets. Max Riemelt plays Marek Gorsky, and Ronald Zehrfeld plays Sven Lottner, a detective whose pursuit of the organization drags him deeper into dangerous territory. Marie Bäumer, Mišel Matičević, and Alina Levshin round out the principal cast as figures caught between loyalty, survival, and the law. The engine of the story is the slow tightening of a criminal network around people who have every reason to stay hidden, with each episode advancing investigations, betrayals, and shifting alliances. Its shape is that of a single continuous crime story rather than a case-of-the-week format. Set in contemporary Berlin, the series feels gritty and unglamorous, with a tense, sober atmosphere that lingers on the costs of violence and distrust. Critics praised its seriousness and craft even though audiences were fewer than hoped. Viewers drawn to European crime sagas in the vein of Gomorra and The Wire will find a similarly grounded, morally weighted world here.

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