I would say this is film about man who is the symbol of the people versus death. And the death in this film closely related to government and KGB. Death is also can be seen as the Visotskiy inability to further work on his poetry - which is the life. Most people who do not know about Visotskiy, how people lived in Soviet Union, will find this film as waste of time. Most people who know Visotskiy well will expect bio type film. It is not. Audience younger than 40 and who lived in former USSR, may expect true satisfaction. As film it is very good. Soundtrack selection sometimes strange. Actors are excellent, except Visotskiy, dialogs are good.