This movie showed real life in a secluded Russian village. The characters played by real women and they are absolutely remarkable. I don't think it is possible for any non-Russian born person to understand the language completely. I had hard time understanding some of the monologues myself despite the fact that I was born in Russia and spent many summers with my grandma in her village just like the one in the movie. Though, I question the feasibility of building electric generation powered by wind without advanced technologies, it does not change the overall realism of the movie. I was also surprised that only one of the immigrants from Uzbekistan could speak Russian. It would be unlikely that other member of that family did not speak any Russian. Even if they could not speak at the beginning, I would think they learned a few words quickly. This is great movie and I recommend it to anyone.