Beautiful film, full of humanity and honest in ways sometimes jarring, but always right on target. A westerner gets a sense of the depth of love for mother Russia, as well as the difficulty many faced during the 1930's Stalinist years. The film is a winner, and worth seeing more than once. The performance by the little girl is incredible; I was taken by her talent and smarts. One of the best films I've seen this year. Thumbs up. Two thumbs up.