This is a masterfully done re-telling of Bulgakov's brilliant play (itself a version of the novel, "White Guard"), "Days of the Turbins". Magnificent acting from all, particularly Valentina Titova as the beautiful Elena Talberg, and Basov as Myshlaevsky. This is a play which has touched lives, and it is one of the few works which stays in the mind for decades. We remember and love Myshlaevsky, we smile at the boasting of Shervinsky, we stare with dread and revulsion at the actions of Hetman Skoropadsky, we weep for Alexej Turbin, and Lariosik, well . . . he's just become a household word. After seeing this film (which follows the play almost to the word), or reading the play itself, we see these people come into our hearts as friends and kin--and then they do not leave. Bulgakov was a master, and this can be see in this, arguably among the five most famous of his many works.
