The movie appears to have been intended for a Western audience, since all the credits appear in English, However, the dialog is entirely in Russian and sibtitled. That's not a problem though, even if you don't speak Russian. Because the dialog is very simple, and the main focus is on the sights and sounds. It shows the art of the Palace and the music of the era when it still was home of the Tsars.

I thought the movie had a strange feel for the first few minutes. It is narrated by two ghosts, one Russian and one French. It is shown throuh the eyes of the Russian ghost, who follows the French ghost through the museum. The dialog between them is a rather condescending exchange where the Frenchman taunts the Russian about the quality of life and art in Russia. But the two are obviously connected, and the chemistry between them is interesting. But more than that is the way Sokurov was able to show 300 years of history, culture and art in this 90 minute uninterupted walkthrough of the Hermitage Palace in St. Petersburg. The "making of" section of the DVD is nearly as interesting as the film itself, so be sure and watch that too.

Can't understand whay Amazon features links to sellers who undercut their price right on the same page as the item listing.

I'll try to remember to post something after I see it.

I'll be getting one.

Russian Ark is great-- I do not recall how I got tipped off
to it. I was slack jawed at the end. One take. The fact that it
was done on video makes it a little easier to grasp.

So now that we are taking about 'arty pictures' I'd
recommend the work of Peter Greenaway, in particular for
this discussion "Drowning By Numbers." In the film there
are images of the numbers 1 thru 100 placed cleverly as the
story unwinds. For me, the first one is always hardest---
I had to get 'tip' on that.

• Drowning by Numbers, VHS Version
  
• Drowning by Numbers, DVD Version