The Return (Russia) 2003 – Andrey Zvyagintsev (Friday's Finest)

Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev in his feature debut, the film is known for several other distinctive characteristics:

: The film won the prestigious Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film.

: The film captures the vast, desolate Russian landscape of Lake Ladoga and the Gulf of Finland through meticulous, atmospheric cinematography by Mikhail Krichman .