In Moloch director Sokurov and screenwriter Arabov tried to create an intimate portrait of Hitler, and this time the duo have sought to express the existential angst of the Russian dictator Lenin. Without emphasising political events or the power context of his rule, they have selected the period during 1922 after his first stroke. With half his body paralysed but still not deprived of speech, Lenin is isolated at Gorky, Morozov’s expropriated estate. He is treated as an ordinary patient and as such bears his powerlessness bitterly. Aware of the irreparable damage to his intellect he contemplates suicide, but the Politburo must give its consent to such a measure. Medical procedures, indifferent personnel, and the care given by Krupská and nurse Marie all irritate him. Neither is he comforted by visitors, Stalin among them. The feeling that he is losing control over his own life is strengthened by the fact that he is forbidden any communication – newspapers, telephones – with the outside world. His gradual awareness that his life is losing meaning constitutes the true content of the film, and Sokurov, serving this time round also as cameraman, gave it an eloquent visual form.