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If a film on FilmBooster has less than 60%, it usually doesn't bode well, especially when many comments don't hide their uncertainty. Yet in the end, I was pleasantly surprised. I consider Lungin's film significantly above average within its genre and it overwhelmingly surpasses many more famous and esteemed genre films that merely play with the label "historical." The trouble lies partly in the fact that Lungin is not very accommodating to his viewers, he doesn't explain things and throws them straight into the deep water. He also shows viewers something that doesn't sit well with some people - that Russia during the reign of Ivan was very different from what Western and Central Europe experienced. While the Renaissance was flourishing and manners were becoming refined, in Tsarist Russia, the ruler's power was only consolidating and the empire was starting to be built. Through brutal massacres, widespread violence, coercion, fear, and manipulation. Conquests and consolidating power were carried out in a way that was not far off from genocide. The extermination of whole families, communities, and ethnic groups was more of a norm than an exception. Lungin tells the story of the conflict between the ruler's power and the intellectual opposition of a prominent church representative. A story that we also know in a lighter version from Beckett's theatrical and film versions. I consider the depiction of medieval Russian realities and contemporary religious zeal, as well as the performances of the actors, to be very good. The editing is worse, which is confusing, especially in the crowd and war scenes. As for the set design, it is naturally limited by Russian capabilities, which do not reach those possessed by large American studios, but there is still something to see here. Overall impression: 80%. (24.08.2014)