The two main Russian actors (Oleg Menshikov and Sergey Bodrov) do not speak French. They memorized all the lines phonetically.
Scenes of swimmers' training and competition were shot in the swimming pool of the Central Sports Club of the Armed Forces in Kyiv.
The scene by the Ministry of Interior in Kyiv was actually shot in the City Park of Sofia, next to the so-called "Party House" and the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence.