Brigada Diverse în alertă! (1971)

The film is divided into two parts, *The Woman Without Distinguishing Features* and *Widows on a Short-Term Contract*, and depicts the resolution of two cases by members of the Miscellaneous Crimes Brigade of a militia precinct: Captain Panait (Toma Caragiu), Warrant Officer Căpșună (Sebastian Papaiani), Senior Sergeant Cristoloveanu (Dumitru Furdui), and Costel, a wolfdog. The film begins with the release from prison of three friends: Gogu Steriade (Dem Rădulescu), Trandafir (Puiu Călinescu), and Patraulea (Jean Constantin). Now free, they say they want to change their ways and work legally, hoping to find jobs in the arts and culture (Patraulea would like to become a singer and magician, Trandafir hopes to become an arts instructor in a performing group that occasionally tours abroad, and Gogu wants to be a simple guide for foreign tourists at ONT). The three petty crooks make getting married their top priority. In the first part, *The Woman Without Distinguishing Features*, Major Dobrescu (Iurie Darie) assigns the Miscellaneous Crimes Brigade to solve the theft of a gas cylinder from 27 Morilor Street. When Captain Panait voices his dissatisfaction, saying that his brigade has so far found 99 gas cylinders, 118 wallets, and 25 puppies, the major gives them a personal case to solve. The previous day, a man named Călinoiu paid a 300-lei debt to the major’s brother-in-law, who in turn repaid a loan to his wife. The money he received was counterfeit, and the Miscellaneous Crimes Brigade is assigned to investigate the case and track down the counterfeiters. Captain Panait and his team go to Călinoiu’s home and learn that the day before he had sold a painting to a woman who was “neither young nor old, neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin.” Călinoiu did not know the woman’s name or where she lived, but she had paid him 3,000 lei, all of it counterfeit. Following the trail of the money, Căpșună and Cristoloveanu reach the home of Stela Mocuță, a woman who performed striptease at home. Harpalete (George Mihăiță), Căpșună’s fellow villager, is unofficially sent to follow Stela, who is eventually arrested. Meanwhile, unable to find the jobs they wanted, the three crooks are sent by Balaban, a well-connected man, to do some household chores for Mrs. Simion (Elena Caragiu), an influential woman who might help them get the jobs they wanted. Gogu, Trandafir, and Patraulea are sent to buy large quantities of food from a store, unknowingly paying with counterfeit money. The food is then resold at much lower prices. The militia officers set a trap for the counterfeiters, borrowing some paintings from a museum and placing a classified ad to attract potential buyers. Following Gogu, who had come to look at the paintings, the officers reach Mrs. Simion’s house (they later learn that Mrs. Simion was actually the housekeeper of a family away on an overseas work assignment), but the counterfeiters leave through another door and steal the paintings Captain Panait had borrowed from the museum. Following another lead, the Miscellaneous Crimes Brigade reaches the place where the money was being counterfeited, but Major Dobrescu has already arrested the criminals. After the counterfeiters’ case is solved, Major Dobrescu assigns the Miscellaneous Crimes Brigade to investigate the Young Widows’ Association, an organization that offers young widows material, medical, and legal assistance, as well as compensation, but is in reality a front for a gang of burglars. The gang uses a group of young women—Agripina, Margareta, Amalia, and Ingrid—posing as widows, who pick up men in various places (at the North Railway Station and outside hotels), enter their homes to make duplicate keys, and persuade them to go together to the Melody nightclub. While they are away, the burglars use the copied keys to enter the homes and steal money, clothes, furniture, electronic devices, and works of art. Among those robbed is Mr. Vornicescu (Ion Besoiu), director of CSMF. By keeping watch on trucks and vans transporting old furniture, the Miscellaneous Crimes Brigade team picks up a lead and arrests a driver named Corcoduș, also nicknamed Gălbează. Meanwhile, Gogu, Trandafir, and Patraulea are holding an engagement party at home, but their fiancées are the very widows in the burglary ring. They go to the Melody nightclub that night, and their house is stripped of its furniture. Gogu goes to the police and files a complaint, but Trandafir and Patraulea follow Agripina (Carmen Maria Strujac), Gogu’s fiancée, and find their way to the burglars’ hideout. In exchange for their silence, they receive 20,000 lei and are promised that their furniture will be returned. Meanwhile, Captain Panait arrives at Gogu’s house, and the three crooks lie to him, saying that they sold the furniture and filed a complaint so that Gogu’s mother would not find out they had failed to find work. To catch the widows and the leaders of the burglary ring, the militia officers set a trap. The four women are arrested for fraud, and the three crooks for handling stolen goods. To get a lighter sentence, the fake widows reveal how the association is organized and give the members’ addresses, and the association’s leaders are arrested.