If you've been dying to brush up your Russian, this is the place to go. Films are a mix of old and new, and either shown in the original Russian or subtitled in German (and occasionally half a screen of other languages). "There's no other movie theatre in the world so specialised in Russia's movies", claims projectionist Gabriel Hageni. But they do also show old GDR movies.

The tiny lobby is lined with film stills and old-fashioned wooden seats, the staff is friendly and yes, you can buy vodka at the bar, though beer, wine, cola and tea served with Russian biscuits are also available. The original cinema built in 1912 here was shut down, but the old seats have been recovered from other cinemas, and the black and white photos on the walls pay tribute to defunct cinemas everywhere.

When entering Krokodil pay attention to the ceiling of the foyer where a real crocodile covered in blue acrylic paint hangs just beneath the ceiling: the Brazilian artist Alex Flemming donated it when the cinema was about to open and inspired the owners to name the theatre "Krokodil" - a word that is the same in Russian and German.