Didn't expect this movie to be good, but it is! Watched it now for the second time.. reminded me of the Mount of Monte Christo, but had its twists of its own... at the beginning it was unclear which motives Jakovlev had, but throughout the flashbacks his story was well explained..

This was one of the best period movies I have seen in quite a long time, if you are interested in Russian Culture or have been to St. Petersburg, speak Russian and German you may even like it more. I thought the movie was riveting, suspenseful, and engrossing. I found it hard to take my eyes off the screen, and will watch it again with my wife. The sets, costumes, locations, were as good as it gets. A must see for a foreign film.

it reminds the atmosphere of Imperial Russia. it gives a dark story, fascinating for the game of levels, using good cinematography, remembering Count of Monte Cristo and using a small love story as spice.the result - a beautiful show, not only as aesthetic product but for a story who, out its bloody dimension, remains seductive for the wise manner to mix the Hollywood standards with the Russian tradition. Pyotr Fyodorov did an admirable job and each new meet with Vladimir Mashkov, especially in a role who reminds Vicomte de Valmont from Dangerous liaisons , is a good thing. so, a beautiful film. maybe not at the high expectations of a part of public but decent and seductive.

Saw it at TIFF 2016. The sets and costumes are great and the story is engrossing, but be warned that this film is *extremely* violent in places. "Onegin" this is not!Also, when they are speaking German, there is a Soviet-style voice-over instead of subtitles, so you can't actually hear what the actors are saying.Overall, it was a very interesting experience!I recommend seeing it if you are at all interested in Russian culture, but sadly this film is likely to be too lowbrow to meet the approval of the art-house crowd.