It would be hard for a film version to do justice to the book "Azazel": in my opinion the best of the Fandorin series, although "Death of Achilles" ranks a close second. The period costumes are enjoyable, as are the characterizations of Brilling, Bezhetskaya, Liza and especially Lady Adair. The actor portraying Fandorin, unfortunately, falls a little short of the mark--however, a larger than life character is hard to cast correctly.
For once, the film follows the book (thank you, Mr. Akunin, for the script). Those who complain about the length of the film need to realize that this was originally a TV serial, each segment running 48 minutes as most serials do on Russian TV.
Not the best it could have been, but definitely a warm-up for IMO, the best Russian serial of all time: "The Idiot"----a must see for anyone. Fortunately, the Idiot has subtitles in English, but the language is so beautiful (the 19th century idiom is delightful), one must listen carefully to appreciate.
It will be interesting to see what Hollyweird does with "Azazel" in 2009. Milla Jovovich as Bezhetskaya: inspired casting choice!
