Besides being a film of a hopelessly disintegrating loveless family as described perfectly by Nursebob, it is also a good social drama with a blueprint to find missing children which is a worldwide problem, in rich or poor countries.

Personally, find Zvyagintsev's 2014 "Leviathan" a better Soviet film:
https://sccl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/453857118

Finally an original storyline. Shockingly different.

Everyone is crying out for love yet no one is able to give it let alone recognize it in Andrey Zvyagintsev’s latest attack on Mother Russia’s cold beating heart. While waiting for their divorce papers Zhenya and Boris pass the time sticking knives into each other with sadistic zeal. Immune to each other’s tirade of insults and abuse yet hardly stopping to take a breath between bouts anyway, their animosity does find an easy target in twelve-year old Alexey, the inconvenient son who doesn’t quite fit into their future plans. It comes as no surprise then that two days manage to pass before either one of them notice that Alexey has gone missing and by the time a search party is organized the trail has grown dangerously faint… The search for a lost innocent—whose lifespan roughly coincides with Putin’s reign—is an apt metaphor on which Zvyagintsey builds his case. In his bleak vision of Russian society the media is filled with stories of war and corruption that no one listens to, the authorities couldn’t care less, and even the road to grandmother’s house is barred and gated. Empathy has been replaced by a selfish hunger—for love, for stability, for validation—and as the first blast of winter descends upon the city Zvyagintsev hints at a chill that goes straight to the soul.

Like the people in "Elena", the two protagonists are totally self-centered - almost excessively so. They also exhibit the same type of fecklessness shown in "Elena" - everything 'sort of happens' and nobody takes much responsibility for their actions.

Wow! Very sad movie. If you ever feeling not ready to have children..DONT force yourself to have children. If your ready to have children, remember it comes with responsibilities. Children need love, attentions, communicate encourage, and learning from you parents.

Boring and utterly pointless movie. I was barely in 10 mins and I wanted to switch it off. I did manage to at 30 mins. Rubbish.

Fantastic movie! The actors were incredibly amazing. It was time well spent for me. A good way of reflecting on our society. There are consequences for the decisions we make, good or bad ... only if we could see the future. I simple or complex decision could impact the course of the rest of lives. How can one be sure that one has made the best one?

A bit hard to watch. As it says, "loveless".

The boys mother had no motherly instinct to put her kid first. The father did but not much more.