Aleksandr Sokurov

In a desolate, sun-sorched corner of the world, an elderly woman has come to see her beloved grandson. He is a young officer stationed at a remote military outpost. With the enemy just beyond the compound, she wanders the barracks, observing the routines of military life, before making a sudden trip into the outlying countryside.

A father and son live together in a rooftop apartment. They have lived alone for years in their own private world. Sometimes they seem like brothers, at other times they appear to be like lovers. Following in his father's footsteps, the son, Alexei attends military school. He likes sports and has problems with his girlfriend. She is jealous of Alexei's relationship with his father. Alexei's father knows he should maybe accept a better job in another...

"Invisible to everyone around him, a contemporary filmmaker magically finds himself in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, back in the early 1700's! He meets a cynical French diplomat from the 19th century and the men become accomplices in an extraordinary time-travelling journey through Russia's turbulent past, ending in the present day."--Container.