Okay, so I have strong feelings on this subject, as my favorite director of all time is Tartovsky, and I've been doing some digging around, as I know only a few polish directors and know nothing about New Wave Czech (which, if we discount Russia/USSR, are the major film hubs besides a few outliers). Eastern European cinema has an insanely deep, rich history you could dedicate your entire life to studying

These are totally not the only things to consider, but there are a few main facets in Eastern European cinema that could be focused on, and I'll provide an example or two of each.

Bleak Surrealism:

embodiment of later-soviet era despondency and the cultural miasma surrounding it.

Notably my boy Tartovsky, Ima throw out Solaris, a beautiful post-modern sci-fi film. It's an inward-turned cultural parallel of 2001, eschewing the spectacle for self-meditation.

I won't recommend any of his films for our lil club here, but Bela Tarr's Satantango is a 7-hour, slow motion on heroin, black-and-white "prosaic sublime' portrait of an entire town cast in Waiting for Godot without, well, Godot. You should watch it once in your life.

Life in the Soviet Union

Man of Iron fictionalized account of Lech Wałęsa's leadership of striking workers in Polish shipyards. People were killed, shit got real. Haven't seen this one, but it's supposed to be good.

On a more reactionary note, The Fireman's Ball is the New Wave Czech film, employing the actual firemen from the town it was shot in, and is a playful allegory for the absurdity of life in the soviet regime.

WW2

While everyone has cried through Saving Private Ryan and we all know that Nazis are bad and the allies are wonderful saviors, the Eastern front from beginning to end was only codified by bloodshed, horror and tragedy, with people getting passed back and forth by brutal world powers like toys to be destroyed in the hands of children.

The Third Part of the Night, by powerhouse Andrzej Zulawski is set in occupied Poland during WW2. It's brutal, powerful, and the soundtrack is great.

Okay, so there's Come and See which I almost don't even want to suggest because it is so horrifyingly brutal, but holy hell this movie is good. Klimov was very inspired by Tartovsky, and a lot of his style is present, but this is absolutely something he would never do.

Other suggestions

Andrei Rublev. Incredible, beautiful, long but totally Tartovsky's best, imo.

Blue from the 3 Colors Trilogy is by Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski is set in France, but is considered one of the best films ever made. It's slow and dense, though, so be warned.

Underground is a rambunctious and madcamp, dark comedy romp through Yugoslavia from WW2 until the 90s, following a ridiculous cast and interjected with horror that you can't help but laugh at. It has it flaws, but I still think it stands strong.

I am doing such a disservice by missing so much other shit, and, even if we go with something else, I think a nice lil overview could help set the tone.

Looking forward to it! Last time was great, so I hope we keep up the momentum!