The article talks mostly about lighter-hearted movies, but I'd still want to recommend my favorite examples of "burdensome beauty" (as they put it) by Tarkovsky

The article talks mostly about lighter-hearted movies, but I'd still want to recommend my favorite examples of "burdensome beauty" (as they put it) by Tarkovsky: "Зеркало" (The Mirror): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYZhXm02kN0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYZhXm02kN0 "Сталкер" (Stalker): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGRDYpCmMcM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGRDYpCmMcM "Андрей Рублев" (Andrei Rublev): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6kqlveBhVY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6kqlveBhVY And, if you're into Slavic cinema in general, I'd also recommend "Life is a Miracle" by Emir Kusturica: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0322420/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0322420/ -- he's not a Russian director, but he is fantastic.