We were looking for a short Nordic series when, once again, Arte worked its magic. We came across Meurtres à Varjakka, whose original Finnish title is Kaikki synnit — All the Sins in English.
This Finnish crime drama consists of three six-episode seasons. Although they take place across very different periods, they are closely connected and together form a remarkably coherent story.
The first season follows Lauri Räihä, a young gay detective who is forced to return to the region where he grew up, and Sanna Tervo, an experienced, divorced police officer who is determined to enjoy life to the fullest. They are an unlikely pairing, but one that works extremely well.
They are called in by Jussi Ritola, the local police chief, who requests assistance from the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation after two prominent members of Varjakka’s Christian Laestadian community are murdered. For Lauri, the investigation also means a difficult return to his past, his family and the religious environment he fled ten years earlier.
The second season takes us back to 1999, around fifteen years before the events of the first. Jussi Ritola is still a young police inspector when he becomes involved in a case that affects him personally and whose consequences will continue to weigh on Varjakka for many years.
The third and final season returns to the time of Lauri and Sanna, five years after their first investigation. A new case once again brings them back to Varjakka and gradually picks up the many threads woven throughout the previous two seasons. It is at this point that we fully understand just how closely the three investigations, the characters and their secrets are connected.
My opinion
My overall opinion of the series is very positive. All the Sins may not have the scale or budget of today’s biggest productions, but it proves that an excellent plot and strong actors are more than enough to draw us in.
All three investigations are gripping, and the radical change in period during the second season does not affect the quality of the series in any way. Each season tells its own story while adding another piece to a much larger puzzle. The inhabitants of Varjakka all have their secrets and wounds, as well as connections that are sometimes much closer than we could ever imagine.
Another of the series’ greatest strengths is the way it portrays northern Finland. In Nordic crime dramas, we are used to seeing these regions beneath grey skies, in miserable weather or covered by a thick blanket of snow.
Here, it is quite the opposite.
Finland appears sunny, bright and green. This is also how I discovered it when I travelled to the north of the country in 2022. I really enjoyed seeing that atmosphere reflected in the series, as it helps challenge some of the clichés too often associated with Nordic countries. The sunshine and greenery do not prevent Varjakka from retaining a heavy, mysterious and sometimes unsettling atmosphere.
As for the cast, Maria Sid is excellent as Sanna. She manages to make her character funny, free-spirited and deeply human, while also revealing that she is far more vulnerable than she first appears. Matti Ristinen also gives a wonderful performance as Jussi, probably the character around whom the entire story is ultimately built.
I have slightly more mixed feelings about Johannes Holopainen’s portrayal of Lauri, but only in the third season. I found him much more convincing in the first, perhaps because his character was more deeply unsettled by his return to Varjakka and by having to confront his past. In the final season, his performance felt more distant and less emotionally engaged.
This remains a fairly minor weakness compared with the series’ many qualities.
All the Sins was therefore a very welcome discovery: an intimate, well-written Nordic crime drama carried by complex characters. The series takes its time, but never feels unnecessarily drawn out. Its three seasons tell a complete story, with a beginning, a gradual progression and, most importantly, a genuine conclusion.
A wonderful Finnish production that is definitely worth discovering.
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