The adaptation of Piranha for the screen ... attracted Yevgeny Mironov and Vladimir Mashkov, Russian stars of the first magnitude.
The filming of the novel by the popular author Aleksandr Bushkov drew a surprisingly fine cast: Vladimir Mashkov, Yevgeny Mironov [and others]. ... For Mironov, who is extremely choosy about the parts he takes, this was a whole new acting experience.
Yevgeny Mironov normally gets cast as the picked-on positive type, and Vladimir Mashkov as the heavy. Here, though, the actors swim against the current, playing against type, and their characters turn out all the more vivid and interesting for it.
Yevgeny Mironov plays the deranged Prokhor, and ... this baddie is way cooler than his foreign counterparts. ... One of Russia's best is cast as the psycho killer, and it's the perfect choice: Mironov's antics here are something to see. It's awesome acting in an awesome part which alone is easily worth the price of the ticket.
Piranha's got mojo, though hell if I know what's behind it. ... [Maybe] it's Mironov's signature flakiness, which lends luster to the fakest collisions.
Yevgeny Mironov plays Prokhor with gusto. He enjoys cracking the whip, and the actor's barely altered appearance does not stand in his way.
It's all about Vladimir Mashkov and Yevgeny Mironov. These are two power players who've been teamed up before, and no fumble can wreck their game.
The brilliant acting duel – Mashkov vs. Mironov – is guaranteed to carry any movie.
This is Black and White as interpreted by two actors who, any way you slice it, are Russia's best and brightest.
Mironov is smooth, wry and convincing as the consummate villain. He portrays his monster with intoxicated glee.
The choice of Yevgeny Mironov for the ruffian Prokhor, against the actor's body type and screen image, was felt [by many critics] to be a revelation and the chief distinction of Piranha over standard Western blockbuster fare.
The director's biggest ... accomplishment was apprehending wholesome Yevgeny Mironov as evil incarnate.
As the blond, coke-snorting "lord of the manor" named Prokhor, crackerjack Mironov is just devilishly good.
Worth watching just for a trigger-happy, albino Zhenya Mironov whose feelings are buried so deep, he's barely human. You look at Zhenya and you agree with [director] Andrei Kavoun's statement – "there's stuff here for him to play".
Russian cinema's heavy artillery – Vladimir Mashkov, Yevgeny Mironov [and others] – has delivered ... memorable characters that give this action flick an edge over its Western prototypes. The battle of their remarkable creations – grim he-man Kirill Mazur vs. morally challenged intellectual Prokhor – makes up for many of the movie's blunders.
What delights ... is that the performances of Mironov and Mashkov, together again for the [fourth] time – after [Ready – One!,] Limita and The Idiot – are full of wit and swagger.
Mashkov and Mironov are fantastic, doubly so when paired up.
When the cast of an action movie is joined by actors like Mironov and Mashkov – the former Prince Myshkin and Rogozhin – the film's ranking automatically goes up.
The secret of Piranha's success ... is that the leads – Yevgeny Mironov, Vladimir Mashkov and Sergei Garmash – are pros of the highest caliber. ... I was afraid I'd be disappointed with a bleached-blond Mironov. Thankfully, he never gave me the chance.
Mironov with a sword in hand is the epitome of agile, slender litheness. ... In this image, he needs no special lighting to pull off a Prince Bolkonsky [of War and Peace], a Valmont [of Dangerous Liaisons], [Catherine the Great's favorite] Grishka Orlov, Lermontov, Marquis De Lafayette, Childe Harold... He looks youthful and invigorated. There's nothing he couldn't do.
Mironov strips – alas, just to his waist – and ... he looks great. Too bad he's never done that before. He's basically acting with his left foot, but your left foot should be so lucky to give such a performance.
Yevgeny Mironov, with improbable haircolor and the name Prokhor – just as improbable for the mid-70s but serving as a convoluted reference to Dostoyevsky ... – is sheer joy.
Just the final train-roof swordfight between two titans of the Russian school of acting is enough to make your heart ... stand still.
Appearing in roles quite unexpected for their present-day status, ... two absolutely pivotal figures of contemporary Russian arts, Vladimir Mashkov and Yevgeny Mironov, ... who have risen ... to unthinkable creative and public heights, ... retain ... a youthful enthusiasm, the urge to take risks, and the thing most invaluable in their business – the ability to laugh at themselves.
We are offered the sterling acting duet of Mironov and Mashkov. And to be fair, it's 100% effective. ... Yevgeny Mironov presents a bona fide master class on "How to Play the Bad Guy". The character of Prokhor is sure to take its rightful place of honor in the filmography of an actor who proves, once again, that for a true professional there's no such thing as a routine performance.
Yevgeny Mironov ... deserves special consideration. ... To a large degree, the screen adaptation of Aleksandr Bushkov's novel of the same name has attracted attention precisely because of Mironov and his willingness to transform himself – for the first time ever – into a genuine villain, an immortal sleazebag on coke. All the other elements of the film are just a setting for his gifted inspiration.
Mironov has decided to wrap up his stint as an evildoer: one try is plenty (and, may we add, it worked like a charm).

[Translated by Vlada Chernomordik for the Yevgeny Mironov Official Website]