On one side, demonstrating state refusers, on the other side, overzealous police officers – in the Vienna “Tatort” there is a big ruckus

It's not necessarily a bad sign when the detective asks at the end of a "Tatort" episode: "Who are we actually after?" The state-refusing drama "Wir sind nicht zu fassbar!" (We are not to be grasped!) is great cinema with a subtle plot. Here, nothing is as it seems. And so investigators Fellner and Eisner (Adele Neuhauser and Harald Krassnitzer) have to fight their way through a case that pushes boundaries in every respect.

For weeks, demonstrators have been marching through Vienna. Tens of thousands of them. For a variety of reasons, they are dissatisfied with the authorities. They range from the far left to the far right. Anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists, and anti-queer activists are among them. There's also a vocal group claiming that Austria has long been ruled by the police.

During one of the demonstrations, a young protester collapses. He has a massive bleeding gash on the back of his head. The police, completely overwhelmed, are using their batons loosely, which is a classic case of authoritarian violence, including fatal consequences.

Of course, the matter isn't that simple. It's disturbingly complicated. This "Tatort" proves that public television can be capable of intelligence. Cheerfully punning like never before, Fellner and Eisner move through diverse milieus.

The victim, young Jakob Volkmann (Tilman Tuppy), comes from a good family but has joined conspiracy theorists in recent years. He was part of an organization called Kapo, the Combat-Ready Extra-Parliamentary Opposition.

The trick of these state-haters: They have no discernible leadership structure. In their investigations, the two detectives aren't alone in the dark. As it turns out, the State Security Service is also investigating the group. And the police chief allows himself to be carried away with a rather unpresidential phrase: "The government is scared shitless."

Potential parliament stormers following the American model could be on the move. QAnon in Austrian: A group calling itself Libertalia, perhaps rehearsing a major European uprising in Vienna. When the secret chief Kapo of the Kapo (the police), a stateless former Foreign Legionnaire, enters the picture, he utters the beautiful phrase: "What would one do in beautiful Austria without the subjunctive?"

The Vienna "Tatort" is a play on political possibilities. It takes current cases of people dangerously tired of democracy and then distills the bigger picture down to the individual. Screenwriter and director Rupert Henning has drawn the characters with fine detail, avoiding the caricature-like exaggeration typical of television.

There's the young, green-left-wing militant mother. There are parents who convincingly condemn their children's activism. There are overzealous police officers who see every demonstrator as an enemy. Detective Meret Schande (Christina Scherrer) is allowed to rise above herself this time and finds herself not only in physical danger but also in a new field of confusion. Who is the perpetrator, who is the victim? Who is the enemy, and who is the informant?

Adele Neuhauser and Harald Krassnitzer act with their characteristic prudence. Two people on the verge of retirement who must face new times. They refuse to look the other way, and so there's a real showdown at the end. Or a big ruckus, as Inspector Fellner puts it.

“Tatort” from Vienna: “We can’t be caught!” Sunday, 8:05/8:15 p.m., SRF 1 / ARD.