A sweeping historical epic in the tradition of Doctor Zhivago, The Admiral tells the story of Alexander Kolchak, one of the White Army’s most controversial commanders. Married to Sofia and with a young son, Kolchak nevertheless falls heavily for Anna, the wife of a friend and fellow officer. Although Kolchak and Anna initially try to resist their passion and are separated in the chaos of the Revolution, they eventually unite in Siberia, where Kolchak is fighting the Bolsheviks on the banks of the Ushakovka River. One of the most expensive Russian films ever made (the budget is reported to have been around $20 million), no expense has been spared on the lavish set pieces, costumes, and full-scale orchestral score. In his portrait of Kolchak as a man clinging to 19thcentury values while his country transforms around him, director Andrei Kravchuk has conjured a lost world of grace and beauty.