director mikhail kalatozov and his loyal companion and cinematographer sergei urusevsky and two year after the dazzle visual tour de force of the crane be fly and venture into the frozen wasteland of siberia for a harrowing adventure on loss and purpose and redemption . an expedition of diamond hunter be drop in the siberian plateau with the mission of discover a rumoured diamond vein . in the course of the movie diamonds acquire a further symbolic aspect a the purpose in life . a the expedition be befall by a raging fire and force to make a hazardous escape through burn log and save the map which point to the location of the much sought after diamond become a struggle to preserve purpose and meaning in a world that defy it . a the survive member of the expedition stagger through the charred landscape and amidst billow of smoke and torrent of rain and nothing there to answer their plea and curse but the echo of their voice and the world seem indifferent to their plight . the star of the movie however be urusevsky cinematography . kalatozov fails to harness his tremendous visual talent a he do in the crane be fly and certain scene flail for attention but lack the dramatic pull to justify them and but still someone who like movie for their pictorial quality and for the endless possibility of capture image with a photographic lens and move inside a thridimensional canvas while such a person will be leave in awe and admiration of what urusevsky achieves . his rapid track shot through branch of tree and a though the nature conspire to ensnare the protagonist and the amazing clarity of the closeup and the maize of hand hold shot thrust the viewer right there in the middle of the action and the beautiful dutch angle transform the geography of the landscape into something that can only exist for and by the camera . although the plot have it heart in the right place and much like it predecessor and it suffer from be too overwrought and from lapse into moment of melodrama . plot thread that be emphasize early on and like sergei unrequisite love and the grow tension with tanya and be never really resolve and come to a screeching halt when the fire erupts . traditional soviet value and like the leader dream of a diamond city and the portrayal of civilization a a collective good and do not chime with my sensibility . the score be often jarring and obtrusive but that 50 cinema for you . overall this be a visually marvellous film aim at the cinephiles who can appreciate such thing .