And after reading about the film a bit just now, I learned Vladimir Garin (Andrei) drowned in a lake where part of the movie was filmed shortly before its debut. Maybe it's just the feelings left over from the film, but I think that's the most horribly depressing news I've heard in a long, long time. His performance was excellent, and the world lost a great actor. Such a shame...

My god, this film was bleak. The color, the music, the plot, everything...bleak is the only way I can describe it. It was powerful, and it definitely made me nervous and kept me tightly strung...but man, was it heavy.

I've now see two films by Andrey Zvyagintsev and he is on my list of must see filmmakers. I'll be seeing a THe Banishment tomorrow. Visually there isn't a director I'm more excited about because of how restrained yet beautiful his images are. I await each of his films with baited breath.