I've seen this three or four times and it never fails to enthrall. This film is almost expressionistic but it never actually crosses that line. Instead, it remains part of a brutal realism laced with poetry that, for me, typically marks the Russian cinematic tradition. The editing reminds one of avant-garde films and the camera movements are breathtaking. Finally, the story will break your heart but there's also a good bit of fun to be had dissecting the symbolism and rhetoric of a film made in 1950's communist Russia. A real treat.