The first Russian movie to be shot specifically in IMAX 3D, Fedor Bondarchuk's war drama stands out above all, thanks to its special effects.

The movie about an episode in the Battle of Stalingrad became the highest-grossing movie in the history of modern Russian cinema distribution (as of 2013) and notched up impressive earnings at the box-office in North America and Asia. In China, 'Stalingrad' even became the highest-grossing non-Hollywood and non-English language movie (until surpassed by India's ‘PK’ in 2015).

The movie, however, was met with very mixed reviews. It was selected as Russia's submission for the Oscars, but failed to be nominated.

The movie, made in the urban fantasy genre and based on a novel by Sergei Lukyanenko, is frequently described as the "first Russian blockbuster". Timur Bekmambetov's picture about the battle of the supernatural forces of Light and Dark in the setting of modern-day Moscow broke multiple records at the Russian box-office and, later, became a hit in the U.S. (grossing $1.5 million) and other countries. The movie also acquired cult status and became a source of many memes and catchphrases.

Directors Quentin Tarantino and Danny Boyle also named 'Night Watch' among their favorite movies and ‘Empire’ magazine included it in its list of one hundred best films in the history of world cinema.

Russia’s answer to the fable about Princess Elsa and Anna in 'Frozen’ was the animated movie 'The Snow Queen’. In the third installment, the main protagonists are the now grown-up Kai and Gerda, who continue to get into various adventures. New heroes are added to the original Hans Christian Andersen classic and the plot does undergo substantial changes throughout the franchise.

The tale was particularly popular in South Korea. The preceding sequel, 'The Snow Queen 2: The Snow King' (also released as 'The Snow Queen: Magic of the Ice Mirror'; 2014) also earned almost $6 million worldwide, with the main receipts coming from China.