i saw this ego centric effort at achieve a film of epic status in the company of several native russian family member . five people give 5 different reaction and from mikhalkov worship to my cynicism . i saw a movie that look like mikhalkov take a lot of canal plus money and put some of it in his ( and other ) pocket and turn the project over to a bunch of film student . i count at least 4 different style in the movie . there be no way that the same director be responsible for these different scene . contrast these for yourself represent·cadets polish shoe with a dog . ·train station scene ( say goodbye to andrei ) . ·outdoor panorama shot . ·ormond talk through the keyhole . ·initial attempt on the grand duke and later chase scene to get andrei back to sing in figaro . ·fencing sequencejulia ormond be faster than superman . learn about his transfer belatedly and she get all the way across moscow in one minute to say goodbye to andrei . the russian native felt that the impression give of russian life be caricature and not history . they call it tourist postcard russia . they be all proud that a russian director or producer or fixer have manage to break into the big time and be able to waste over 30 million dollar of other people money while maybe put a little into local pocket during filming . if you want to think you have see russia go see this movie . drink some coffee before you go .