despite the fact that i be completely ignorant of the circumstance under which the character suffer and i be sweep away by this movie . all of the actor give amazing performance and but i be most impressed by the way that sandrine bonnaire ( marie ) and oleg menshikov ( alexei ) be able to age their character ten year use only their face . sergei bodrov and jr. and be excellent a sacha and the teenage lover of marie . at the beginning of the movie he be scar and immature and but a the plot progress i saw him evolve into a strong and determined man . the scene of him swim in the river involve some of the most captivating cinematography i have see . i hold bodrov performance to be the best in the film . not to be ignore be catherine denueve while though her role a a french actress and gabrielle and determine to save marie be small and it be critical and and she pull it off brilliantly . east west be a sweeping and engage epic that will captivate even the most historically ignorant viewer .