Examples include: White Sun of the Desert (1970), The Burning Miles (1957), The Bodyguard (1979), The Sixth (1981) Because eastern western sounds weird and paradoxical, Ostern became the term used to encompass the Eastern European and Soviet Unions adoption of the Western movie (Ost is Russian for East). Whats notable about the genre is the historical context of these films. Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, the Ostern holds up a mirror to the forming identity of the USSR, using the Cowboy narrative to show the Red Armys rise to power and their battles on the sprawling plains of the Steppes against the Turkic rebels (often portrayed as evil, gun-slinging outlaws). The White Sun of the Desert is seen as an exemplary specimen in the genre and its certainly worth a watch as a cult Russian movie. Before any Russian astronaut can embark on a mission into space, they are told to watch this film as part of a good luck ritual. Furthermore, some Venuss craters are named after several of the movies characters.
