"The shape of a dark world - in both senses of the word - comes into view in slow pans which are only interrupted by cuts to a new location. We see the facades of dockland buildings, the catacomb-like arches of a sewerage system and coffin-like rooms of apartments on large housing estates.

"The film's slow, meditative pace concentrates not on action but on 'internal dramaturgy' and on the 'whispering pages' of the visible; its purpose is to make the viewer reflect sensitively on the eternal subject of crime and punishment, but also on the social and religious significance of life. In this sense the film not only depicts 'Russian 19th century literature' but alludes to parallels within contemporary Russia." - Hans-Joachim Schiegel