Russian cinema has come a long way since Elem Klimov's Agonia (USSR, completed in 1975, released in 1985), in which veteran stage-and-screen actor Anatoly Romashin brilliantly portrayed a weak and incompetent Tsar Nicholas II. That controversial state-supported portrayal of events in 1917 ended up being banned for a decade, simply because the tsar was presented too sympathetically.

Now, two decades later, Nikita Mikhalkov is astonishing audiences and puzzling critics with an equally controversial screen incarnation of Tsar Alexander III in this $45 million, largely English-language production - by far the most expensive and lavish in Russian film history. Queried in interviews as to why he chose this particular tsar, who presented a bluff, crude exterior to the world during his rule between 1881 and 1894, Mikhalkov has insisted: "Alexander III should not be forgotten: he was an 'enlightened conservative' who kept Russia out of war during his 13-year reign."

This in itself is quite a provocative claim - historians might disagree as to the merits of a regime marked also by the rise of nationalism and excessive repression of liberal thought. Furthermore, as evidenced by his historically disjointed story of Stalinist Terror, Burnt By The Sun, which won the director an Oscar as well as taking the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes in 1994, Mikhalkov isn't averse - as he freely admits - to manipulating facts and events "for dramatic effect".

But many insiders think there may be quite another reason. Mikhalkov is nothing if not ubiquitous - as well as directing, writing, producing and acting in his own films, he's also president of the Russian Cultural Fund, chairman of the Union of Russian Cinematogra-phers and honorary director of the upcoming Moscow film festival (and there have also been rumours that he is planning to offer himself up as a presidential candidate in the year 2000). Photographer Igor Gnevashev even told the Russian version of Premiere magazine that he thought "Nikita was trying the crown on for size" - and the ensuing promotional circus surrounding The Barber Of Siberia has only served to fuel this speculation.

Dedicated "to the honour of Russian officers" and set in 1885, The Barber Of Siberia unfolds mostly in flashback. It tells the story of a beautiful American adventuress, Jane Callahan (Julia Ormond) who travels to Russia with an obsessive industrialist (Richard Harris) who plans to make a fortune with his jumbo tree-felling machine.

On the train, she meets Andrei Tolstoi (Oleg Menshikov), a young cadet from a noble family, and they begin to flirt. Andrei declares his love for her after attending a performance of Mozart's The Marriage Of Figaro, but their relationship is complicated by a jealous love rival, General Radlov. They fight a duel of honour, and Andrei is banished to Siberia by the vengeful victor.

Ten years on, Jane's son - her child by Andrei - is enrolled at military school, and with the blessing of her new husband, who accompanies her, she heads for Siberia and her former lover. When Jane is finally reunited with Andrei - now a barber - she finds him at peace with the world, enabling her to cast off her guilt from the past and leave with an uplifting insight into the hearts and minds of the Russian people. Mikhalkov's hype machine has already prompted the inevitable comparisons with Titanic, but it remains to be seen whether The Barber Of Siberia will be such an obviously commercial precedent for new Russian cinema. Ron Holloway