In a desolate corner of the world, an elderly woman has come to her beloved grandson, a young officer stationed at a remote military outpost, with the enemy just beyond.

It may run just a whisker over 90 minutes, but this Chechnya-shot drama from Alexander Sokurov (Russian Ark) is a profoundly expansive work of art. A powerful portrait of human conflict starring the great soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, Alexandra peers into the very soul of the Russian condition.