Não consigo encontrar uma resposta conclusiva, mas aqui está o que eu encontrei:
O script não ajuda - nem sequer menciona a conversa entre os russos antes de Floyd os abordar , e tudo o que diz sobre a conversa deles depois que ele sai é:
THE RUSSIANS EXCHANGE A FEW SERIOUS PARAGRAPHS IN RUSSIAN
Dos comentários no vídeo do YouTube :
LEFTCOASTER67: Does anyone know how good the actors [sic] Russian is?
ECONOMIC: To a Russian speaker, it is obvious that he (Rossiter) is not Russian or even eastern European. Having said that, he does pronounce the phrases with correct emphasis, albeit with an overtly English tongue ;)
INGUSMANT: What does he say at the end btw?
ECONOMIC: Not too sure I am interpreting it correctly but it sounds like "Navernoe im ochen trudna" which roughly translates as 'It looks like it's difficult for them' or 'It looks like they're struggling'. The woman then replies and that roughly translates as 'it seems like it'.
E:
DEEPTIME5: What are they saying in Russian at the end of the clip..? I've always wondered.
SUISEISEKI DESU: "I guess it must be difficult for them." "Apparently."
De uma análise acadêmica dos efeitos do filme:
After Dr. Floyd leaves, Dr. Smyslov speaks ill of him. “Наверное, ему очень трудно./Definetly, he has the greatest difficulty.” Dr. Stretyneva responds, “По видимости./Obviously.” Dr. Kalinan does, too, “Да, очень трудно./Yes, the greatest difficulty”.
De IMDb :
Before they meet Floyd, they are considering going to the observation deck while they wait for a flight. After Floyd leaves, they say, "It must be difficult for him."
Da FAQ em um site de fãs do Kubrick :
What does the Russian scientist Smyslov say on the space station in 2001?
[A site member named] Dupavoy answered this one, he translates it as: "These are hard times."
Although, according to Nina Stoessinger, in the German dubbed version Smyslov says: "He knows more"
De um site de fãs de ficção científica :
"Im navernoe ochen' trudno" ("They must have had a very hard time").
"Da, ochen' trudno" ("Yes, they must").
Which suggests the subject of the Russians' concern had less to do with Floyd than with the crew of the Russian rocket bus.
Esta última tradução parece ser baseada em um post anterior em uma extensa 2001: Uma Odisséia no Espaço fã site :
The female scientist remarks: "Im navernoe ochen' trudno" ("They must have had a very hard time").
Margaret Tyzack replies: "Da, ochen' trudno" ("Yes, they must").
It suggests that the subject of their concern was nothing to do with Floyd, but was the crew of the Russian craft that was denied permission for an emergency landing.
Minha opinião é a seguinte:
Um usuário do YouTube que fala russo bem o suficiente para criticar a enunciação de Rossiter interpretou isso por conta própria, e diz que é algo como:
'It looks like it's difficult for them' or 'It looks like they're struggling'... 'It seems like it'.
Outro usuário do YouTube tem uma tradução diferente com o mesmo significado básico:
"I guess it must be difficult for them." "Apparently."
Enquanto várias outras fontes (que podem ser dependentes umas das outras) dizem que as linhas são:
"They must have had a very hard time".
"Yes, they must".
Assim, temos pelo menos três traduções (aparentemente) independentes que dizem aproximadamente a mesma coisa. Provavelmente, eles estão corretos.
Esta conclusão é apoiada pelo fato de que pelo menos uma outra fonte traduz a primeira linha como "Estes são tempos difíceis", o que é bastante semelhante a "Eles devem ter tido um tempo difícil". A maioria das traduções concorda que a primeira linha tem algo a ver com tempos difíceis.