Well, I am Russian and I was looking forward to see the movie, especially since I used to respect Nikita Mikhalkov quite a great deal. Unfortunately, recently he turned to be some outdated sort of "russophil", dreaming of the long gone days of the Great Russian Empire, ruled by the Good Tzar. Not surprisingly, he modestly plays the Tzar's part himself, and in general, his much politicized opinions got reflected in the movie. There's no plot, no action, but a bucketful of tears and sobbing, vodka, bears and other aspects of supposedly wonderful life back then. That's what is caled "lubochnaya kartinka" - a simplified, though fancy and attractive, picture on wood, sold at fairs to kids.
The film is spectacular, the takes are great, and technically there's nothing to complain about: it's a visual pleasure. The idea that everybody speaks their proper language in the original version is really great (shall I mention that in the Russian version, Mikhalkov himself speaks over the original voices, attempting to re-enact all the actors, which is utmostly annoying). Julia Ormond is fine, and so is Richard Harris. Oleg Menshikov tries his best to portray a 20-years old, although it was difficult to believe that he is younger than 30 (err, how old is he indeed? 40?). Alexey Petrenko I never admired, although he is considered as a very good actor in Russia. In this movie he plays a caricature of a true Russian general - I guess, the way Mikhalkov sees it. Well, everything in this movie is a caricature, and one should keep in mind that it's not the way life was going in Russia those days, not the way Russians were or are, and ultimately this all is just a peculiar nostalgic fantasy by Mr. Nikita Mikhalkov.
The film is spectacular, the takes are great, and technically there's nothing to complain about: it's a visual pleasure. The idea that everybody speaks their proper language in the original version is really great (shall I mention that in the Russian version, Mikhalkov himself speaks over the original voices, attempting to re-enact all the actors, which is utmostly annoying). Julia Ormond is fine, and so is Richard Harris. Oleg Menshikov tries his best to portray a 20-years old, although it was difficult to believe that he is younger than 30 (err, how old is he indeed? 40?). Alexey Petrenko I never admired, although he is considered as a very good actor in Russia. In this movie he plays a caricature of a true Russian general - I guess, the way Mikhalkov sees it. Well, everything in this movie is a caricature, and one should keep in mind that it's not the way life was going in Russia those days, not the way Russians were or are, and ultimately this all is just a peculiar nostalgic fantasy by Mr. Nikita Mikhalkov.