Aficionados know that Kristen Bjorn was among the first of the gay porn producers to exploit the natural resources of the newly liberalized Eastern Europe, and they're in ample evidence here, along with Bjorn's usual high production values.
"Comrades in Arms" is a touching story, really -- just loaded with ironic nostalgia for the passing of the Soviet Union. Why, it's almost an allegory of ... but let's not get lost in imperial ramblings. Suffice it to say that our Russian comrades are not only in each others' arms, but in mouths, assholes, and everything else. Our story starts as adorable Alexei Gromoff enters a grand railroad station. The subtitle states, "Budapest, 1996." He's in full Red Army garb -- never mind that the Red Army ceased to exist several years earlier. He and his pals are just now departing their host country, and they're reminiscing over all the fun times they had. (You know, we've always heard that life as an occupying military force is just one big orgy.)
One of Alexei's Russian buddies is Marko Nagy, whose authoritarian warnings against trespassing to cute brunet Lajos Magyar and fashion-model-ish Joska Lenta result in his being lured to a hunting lodge for fucking and sucking. We know it's a hunting lodge because it's a taxidermist's dream: stuffed birds and animal heads everywhere. Kind of creepy. But all those antlers have brought out the horns in our heroes, as Joska drops Lajos's drawers for Marko's easy entry before he even has a chance to get his uniform off. Joska takes a turn, and he and Marko both shoot spectacular loads as tinkly piano music plays in the background. There's some extensive rimming, and then Lajos is in the middle with Marko in his Hungarian ass and Joska in his mouth. Then it's Joska's turn again -- well, you get the picture. Did we mention cum-shots galore? The scenes of Joska on his back, cumming while being fucked, are prime.
Another soldier, young-looking Sasha Borov, is picked up in a park by aristocratic brunet Arpad Miklos. His nice suit and fedora, accompanied by a trench coat, suggest his socio-economic status -- which is confirmed when he takes Sasha to a fancy apartment and offers him money. Sasha doesn't want his filthy lucre, however -- just his big dick. These two blow plenty of cum before they're done, with lots of sucking and thin, wiry Arpad fucking his young soldier in a variety of positions. Actually, this is a very tender session, more like lovemaking than the usual lustful porn. Once again, the communist proletariat is screwed by the bourgeoisie!
Attila Sipos makes one of his earliest appearances in Bjorn movies as he meets his comrades in front of their train. Compared to the massive bodybuilder he is today, he's fairly small here, although still in great shape. He and Alexei recall a visit to a bar where guys are having sex off to one side. Hey, we know that place! No, wait ... this is Hungary. Anyhow, it seems to be cocksucking soldiers' preferred hangout, as dark and sultry bartender Akos Matyas (who also went on to a big porn career, including working for Falcon), Alexei, and Attila watch Kristian and Janos hook up. By the time Kristian is pounding his big fat dick into Janos's eager butt, cute sailor Rezso Farkas (how the hell do you say that name?) and Akos have appeared to service Alexei and Attila. In an interesting twist, horny Kristian comes into his condom, and there are great shots of his thick cock exiting and entering Janos's hairy ass with a big wad of jism in the tip. In no time it's an all-out orgy, with Alexei, Akos, and Janos bottoming (the first of many for Alexei, if we recall correctly), including one of those ridiculous "hold your partner in the air and lower them onto alternate penises" scenes. Perhaps they wanted to show off the physical precision they learned in the Red Army -- it's more fun than marching drills.
Despite all the fantasizing the boys manage to make it onto the train and back to Russia without soiling their clothes. Upon their return, Alexei and Marko are working out in a communist gym. We know it's communist because there's a red Soviet flag on the wall. Alexei interrupts his incline benches to drift off into an erotic reverie about identical twin bodybuilders splashing around in a pool. Admittedly, these boys have beautiful bodies, but they look dumb as wood, and their acting is pretty wooden, too. There's a little bit of tentative touching and oiling of each other's bodies, but it's primarily a masturbation scene, and not a particularly enthusiastic one. More interesting is what's happening in the gym, as Alexei has now dozed off on the incline bench. Yes, that happens to us frequently when we work out. His erection has sneaked out of his shorts and Marko is sucking him. In an unexpected twist, Alexei shoots his load into Marko's mouth, who continues sucking and swallowing while cum dribbles everywhere. Bjorn has since said that this bit of "unsafe" action was the result of a mistranslation of some direction; nevertheless, it's extremely hot. His climax wakes up Alexei, who is startled to see Marko. "You!" he exclaims. "Who were you thinking about?" Marko slyly inquires. Being the thoughtful, quick-witted slut that he is, Alexei quickly responds, "You, of course." Yes, of course. Marko proceeds to fuck Alexei every which way right there in the gym, even on top of the Soviet flag. We like this scene best of all. Alexei seems beefier than in his later movies, and is ever-so smooth-skinned, youthful and innocent looking. Bjorn takes full advantage of it by showing off Alexei's body to full advantage at every opportunity during the sex. The scene where he lies on his side on a weight bench, hiking his leg up to invite a fucking is priceless. Many cum-shots later, it's clear that they've overcome their nostalgia for Hungarian boys and are ready to continue as Red Army fucking machines.
The video quality of the DVD is excellent -- very useful since Bjorn's photography and lighting are so superlative. There's not a lot of extras -- just some still photos available as either a slide-show or individually. But when you're in the mood for Alexei Gromoff at his best -- or if you're into allegories of the socialist workers' paradise as gay sex orgy -- head directly for "Comrades in Arms."
A DVD Review by The Porn Emperor