Only his blue eyes are visible, pulling the viewer into the bleak scene. It is brilliant shooting, visually stimulating and terrifying. The acting is well done for the most part. Law becomes his role, carrying Vassily's burdens as a full spectrum of emotions continuously play across his face, compelling the viewer to see everything through his eyes. The only real drawbacks were the jarring British accents of the three main actors, the romantic story and seemingly tacked-on ending.
Romance provides a human aspect, but here it only distracts from the main plot.
The ending also jars the viewer, first giving a written summary of the ending of Vassily's life and then cutting to a scene in a hospital. The director was aiming to please with a relatively happy ending, but it rings dissonantly, distracting from the film's true resonance of a harrowing and thought-provoking story.