By the Law (Russian: По закону, romanized: Po Zakonu) is an 83-minute silent action drama film released on 3 December 1926.

The group is composed of Michael (Irish), Hans Nelson (Swede and leader of the expedition) and his wife Edith (English), Dutchy (Dutch) and Harky.

One day, Michael enters the cabin with a rifle for hunting or protection and, in a moment of madness, shoots dead two of his comrades, Dutchy and Harky.

They face the dilemma of whether to administer justice themselves or risk waiting for the thaw and then trying to return to civilization to render the offender to the public court.

[citation needed] Kuleshov and co-screenwriter Shklovsky initially thought that the studio would be interested in a low-budget feature with three actors in one setting but the script was rejected and only after an article appeared in support of the picture in the magazine "Soviet Screen" was the film greenlit.