Despite the fact that I was completely ignorant of the circumstances under which the characters suffered, I was swept away by this movie. All of the actors gave amazing performances, but I was most impressed by the way that Sandrine Bonnaire(Marie) and Oleg Menshikov (Alexei) were able to age their characters ten years using only their faces. Sergei Bodrov, Jr., was excellent as Sacha, the teenage lover of Marie. At the beginning of the movie he was scared and immature, but as the plot progressed I saw him evolve into a strong, determined man. The scenes of him swimming in the river involve some of the most captivating cinematography I've seen. I hold Bodrov's performance to be the best in the film. Not to be ignored is Catherine Denueve; though her role as a French actress, Gabrielle, determined to save Marie was small, it was critical, and she pulled it off brilliantly. East-West is a sweeping, engaging epic that will captivate even the most historically ignorant viewer.