User Reviews

The 2 part of this excellent film is more tragic. Here we see the plot against tzar Pyotr going on in fill swing. His own son, Aleksey, played admirably well by a somewhat psychotic Aleksey Cherkasov, started a coup against all that his father had done. Aleks hates new Russia, new capitol, new army and new fleet. He dreams of an old, religious Russia with all the weak and infantile rulers. The plot is broken, Aleks is taken to Russia from Italy by a trick and later he is interrogated, tormented and executed by his own Dad's order. Here, we witness a deep and very personal tragedy of tzar Pyotr who managed to change the whole state but failed to change his own son. This episode also depicts the Cossacks' riots in Ukraine, the peasantry unrest and the rise of the tzar's wife, Catherine, to the power. We also see the triumph of Russia over Sweden and the start of the strong Russian fleet. Watch this marvelously done history film and you will never be sorry for that.