Sergei Eisenstein is without a doubt one of the most important directors in the history of cinema. His films now stand as classics, universally acclaimed by critics and having long become staples of film courses where they are used as examples of how to read cinema. Of course, to the average viewer,...

“The Return” marks the debut of Andrei Zvyaginstev, a Russian film maker who has already been compared by many to his legendary countryman, Andrei Tarkovsky (”Solaris”). It is easy to see why, as Zvyaginestv’s award winning first film has the measured, languid feel reminiscent...

It’s interesting to see a movie like Timur Bekmambetov’s “Night Watch”, especially considering that my only exposure to Russian genre films has been two movies by Aleksei Balabanov. “Night Watch” is not like Balabanov’s movies; for one, Bekmambetov seems to come...

Did you know that some Russian movies have an unseen voice simultaneously translate non-Russian dialogue into Russian? Of the two Russian films I’ve seen, this has been the case. It not only makes hearing the English dialogue somewhat impossible, but the whole thing feels more than a little strange....

As of late few war movies about World War II have been black and white. Oh sure, you’ll still find films mired in simplistic jingoism, but the films that manage to gain international acclaim have all been more about humanity rather than good and evil. “Saving Private Ryan” boiled war...

I’ve been told that “Brat 2″, a sequel to a successful movie, is one of the biggest box office champ in Russian history. The film is a major success and (I’m once again told) it has revitalized the Russian film industry and their stature in the action genre. If this is the case,...