I don't think I would've liked City of Thieves as much if it wasn't inspired by a true story, because the twists it takes are so absurd and harrowing that they must be grounded in reality to be believable. In Lev and Kolya, David Benioff finds heroes with just the right mix of gallows humor and idealism to bring light to the horrifying circumstances in which they find themselves without reducing that suffering to merely a backdrop for their adventures.