This is a very long film. It really dragged in some places, but maybe that's because I'm not Russian, and so maybe I didn't get into the story as much as I would have. In my defense, I missed many of the subtitles because they went by very quickly, so I had to rewind many times and pause several times, but more often, I didn't even bother.
The effects were kind of lame. Whenever the Germans sent an artillery "barrage" it was only two shells at a time, and they weren't very explosive.
Having said that, the acting was good, and the script wasn't stupid. It seems that Russian filmmakers are now tryin to produce good motion pictures. It had the requisite romance subplot that at Soviet/Russian films about the war have, of course. It seems like an important story, too. I didn't know that a railroad bridge to Leningrad was built across the from lake that the city is in. I knew Leningrad was on an island and that the Germans blockaded it, but I only knew that the Russians trucked in supplies across the frozen water to get food and medicine to the starving and sick residents of the city.
All-in-all, I didn't regret watching it like I do most Soviet/Russian films.
