Movies to Watch Before You Go To Russia

Russia has a large and storied history of filmmaking. Anywhere that has embraced an epic eight-hour adaptation of War and Peace as a classic clearly takes their flicks seriously. Some of these movies will feature scenery, some will feature culture. Probably any will feature vodka and guns. But all will get you excited about your trip to Russia.

Russian Ark

What do you get when a memoirist takes a journey through the Russian State Hermitage Museum? The history of the last 200 years in Russia. But in an entertaining way. Think Night at the Museum, only good. And Russian. And actually involving history.

Fiddler on the Roof

This big-screen adaptation of the popular play was a box office smash in 1971. But you’ll want to watch it because it so hilariously stereotypical. But you just might find yourself catching the spirit and singing along to If I Were a Rich Man.

The Cranes are Flying

Watch this if you like stunning cinematography and love in the face of war. Cranes helped return Russian cinema to a worldwide audience in the post-Stalin era.

Brother

Because what list of Russian film would be complete without a gangster flick? Critically acclaimed in both Russia and the United States, Brother will leave you in a Russian-Tarantino ball of anxiety. It also has generous shots of St. Petersburg.

Doctor Zhivago

Like Fiddler, Doctor Zhivago wasn’t filmed on location, thanks to the book being banned in Russia at the time. It was filmed in Spain instead. Despite that, nothing will quite get you in a Russian mood (that is, revolutionary, tragic, lovelorn and defeated) like this film. It is Doctor Zhivago, after all.