This fascinating series, set in pre-war Breslau (a city whose rulers changed hands countless times over the centuries but is now securely -- we hope -- in Poland and called Wroclaw), has one of the best acting ensembles I have ever seen. The conflict between Nazi and local authority is in play from the start, and lends an ominous subtext to what might otherwise have been a fairly routine police procedural. Its actual subplots -- a wild wife, a son with health difficulties, power politics and propaganda themes -- colour all the action and characterisations with layers of meaning and ever-present fear and dread. We get to know and understand these characters over the eight sometimes slow-moving episodes (though the pace is pretty good throughout). So that the ending is mysterious: given the somewhat improbable dismissal/return of Podolsky to his role, and the unexplained clean-up of the final scenes, we do not know his likely fate. But if this was from further west in Europe, it would be a hint that there might be more series to come. Despite having to watch it dubbed, rather than subtitled, I very much hope so.

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