Lilja 4-ever is the best film I have seen so far this year. While the title character is a girl there is a much stronger boy presence in the film than the title or synopsis would lead you to believe. Here is a summary I found on the net.....

16 year old Lilja lives in a dreary and poor suburb somewhere in the former Soviet Union. She dreams about a better life. One day her mother moves to the USA along with her new man, and Lilja is promised to be able to join them soon.
But as no letter from her mother arrives, Lilja realizes that she’s been abandoned. She's forced to move to a small dilapidated flat with no electricity or heating. Heartbroken and without any money Lilja becomes more and more desperate. Her only friend is the 11-year-old boy Volodja. Together they travel around the area and fantasize about how one could make life easier to live.
One day hope arrives when Lilja falls in love with Andrei. He asks her to follow him to Sweden to start a new life. Little Volodja gets jealous and suspicious, but Lilja packs her bags. Suddenly she's sitting on a plane on its way to Sweden - not knowing what awaits her there.....

While the synopsis leaves the mood a little open ended, I will fill in that this is a dark picture, best not viewed by the ultra-sensitive. Lilja initially serves as a protector figure to Volodja (although he wants their relationship to be different) and at film's end he is able to return the favor. These scenes really resonated with me.

Artyom Bogucharsky, who played Volodja, is deservedly listed second in the credits. His performance is very impressive for a debut. I hope we have the chance to see him in something else soon.
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This publicity still I found demonstrates the chemistry between our two leads.

I just finished watching this movie. It's absolutely beautiful and moving and sad. The relationship between the Lilja (pronounced Lilya) and the younger boy is great. They seem to have genuine affection for each other and there is a perfect chemistry between the two actors.

I agree with Zab's warning that the movie should probably not be viewed by the ultra sensitive. It's very tragic and depressing, but at the same time hopeful.

***CONTAINS SPOILERS***

Although I'd seen parts of this movie before I'd not actually watched it closely until it was shown on TV last night.

Very powerful film, but a very disappointing ending. I hated those stupid angel sequences. IMO they had no place in this sort of film. The ending was like something out of Touched by an Angel.

I was left shaking my head at the stupid ending. That sort of fantasy trip is fine in certain contexts but it was totally out of place in this film.

I should have been left with a feeling of despair about the depravity and selfishness that humans are capable of rather than the wistful notion that in the end everything is beautiful once you are dead.

Artyom Bogucharsky (Volodya) was very appealing BTW.

7/10

Well cal we do agree on Artyom Bogucharsky anyway. 
As an American, I am subjected to a constant diet of happy endings, I guess it doesn't faze me anymore. However I tend to agree with joseph that the ending wasn't nearly as happy as you might think.

I lifted some of a Q&A with Moodysson on Lilja...

What was your starting-point for making LILYA 4-EVER?

After TOGETHER, I wanted to make a completely different film, and I started writing a script which has some similarities with the finished version of LILYA 4-EVER, except that it takes place in a completely different part of the world, with completely different characters, but maybe it asks some of the same questions. Then one day I was standing in my living room and it was like a big rock fell down on my head. The film came to me in a couple of seconds, all the scenes and everything with the exception that it was intended to be a more religious film. It was originally about the way that God takes part or doesn’t take part in the world today. It was very literally about Jesus next to this girl Lilya. That part was overtaken by the character of the little boy Volodya. If I was simplifying the process, I was thinking that it was very difficult to write about Jesus. It doesn’t mean that I lost the religious thread completely but it had a more substantial place in the film at one time. I think it’s interesting to think that Volodya took the place of Jesus. Just like Jesus he comes to this planet as a human being. This time he comes as an abused child and he walks next to another abused child. That idea interests me.

What stood out about Artiom Bogucharskij from all the other kids you auditioned for the role of Volodya?

He had something with his eyes and he had a kindness and an empathy and a way of behaving that was natural and relaxed. To be able to relax in front of the camera is the most important thing as an actor. Artiom has got that ability to get more in contact with his emotions when he’s acting, to be more and more present. It was important though to sit down and talk about Oksana and Artiom’s roles with their mothers, and to make a very precise deal about how we were going to work. We had to make them feel sure we would respect them and their wishes and that we would not force them into doing something they didn’t want to do.

The whole interview is at (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

This just showed up for rent at Netflix.