Let me preface this by disclosing that I am not from Russia. Perhaps the movie becomes more compelling if you are raised in the Russian society and culture, but I wasn't.
Here is the review of the movie in a nutshell: There was potential for greatness, but it was wasted on a mechanical love triangle and historical superficiality. Shame.
For example, the lovers never get intimate. It is as if they are constantly waiting for the camera crew to leave. There is no passion between them. This made various key plot elements hard to buy.
Also, we never get a good sense of why the Admiral is fighting for the dying regime. From what I have read on the net, he was a passionate anti-Bolshevik but we don't get that sense in the movie. Why does he put everything on the line after the monarchy falls? Why doesn't he just leave? Why do the soldiers loyal to him keep fighting? What does he want to do with Russia if he can beat the Reds? We get no clue, no explanation, no plan, no rationale, not even a trace of human emotion grounding the resistance. What we see is someone in a uniform going through the motions. He appears to be a good actor too, so if I had to point my finger on someone, I would blame the failure on the screenwriter and the director.
But perhaps that's actually how the war happened, which could explain why he lost against the Reds.
In the end, the movie fails on both counts: It is not a believable love- triangle drama and it is not a compelling history movie. Unless you already care deeply about the historical figures in the movie, you wont find yourself moved.
I don't recommend it to any audience.
