Mikhalkov wrote, directed, and stars in this story of Stalinist Russia. Beautifully photographed, the film manages to be simultaneously idyllic and ominous. Of course, the details of history dictate the outcome. Nevertheless, watching Mikhalkov's aging war hero play gracious host to the agent of his eventual undoing, you can't help but wish that history will be unwritten, if only for a few hours.

Harold Check