Once you've started the program, you'll see that the screen of Midnight Commander is divided into essentially three main parts. There are two panels laid side by side, which contain directory information and a command line. In addition to the three main areas, there's also a menu bar across the top and a list of function keys across the bottom of the screen. Each panel can display the same or different directories on your hard disk. Most file operations will take place in the panel with the selection bar.
Some commands use the other panel as the default for file operations such as copy or move.
You can also issue commands directly from the command line. Like most programs, Midnight Commander supports the use of hotkeys. The hotkeys that the program uses are an approximation of the GNU Emacs editor keys. For a complete list of all the hotkeys, consult the Midnight Commander manual. Midnight Commander's main use is file management.