Hollywood at its best.

Rating: 10/10 (7 September 2006)

The list of good things to come from the communist period of Russia and East Europe is quite short. At the top of the tiny list is the untouched great parts of cities that are still in a high state of 19th Century preservation. This great sanctuary makes a wonderful set for this superb film.
Here, we're immersed in the graceful era of cobblestones, gaslight and an equestrian society of high dress code, the great unwashed obviously so. Add to that a marvelously written script filled with the enchantment of surprise; all told, a delightful, artistic set of Chinese Boxes with a pearl at the center, a genuinely powerful yet socially impossible love. The surrounding outer boxes are the deeply etched characters of the story, the extraordinary photographic treatment and above all, the metaphysical music score of Philip Glass, a composer that has fascinated me from the earliest years of my adult life.
This production engages at all levels of appreciation. The outer box is the performances of the two central leads, critically acclaimed actors Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti who beguile us with a masterful balance of nuance and verve. The last ten minutes of the film are entrancing if not altogether unpredictable. This is one of those rare films that leaves me envious because I had nothing to do with its creation; very highly recommended