A simple story of ordinary, desperate but seductively portrayed characters, with the slowly building sad circle of fate and irony typical of a Chekov short story, all sumptuously filmed in a most authentic looking setting. The meticulous detailing of this era of Russia is itself of great value to someone half a world away. The great lengths and high standards necessary for criticizing this film sound more like praise to me. This film is sadly beautiful, poetic and seductive.
