One of the first books to explore Russian cinema in the new millennium, this volume captures the emergence of a new cinematic sensibility and interprets it through the framework of the symbolic mode. Analysing films by established directors such as Sokurov, Zviagintsev and Zel'dovich, as well as lesser-known filmmakers like Balabanov, Fedorchenko and Kalatozishvili, Contemporary Russian Cinema: Symbols of a New Era explores the particular style of film presentation that has emerged in Russia since 2000, characterised by its use of highly abstract concepts and visual language. Whether directed towards a mystical world, or even towards an afterlife, the symbolic mode defines the emergence of a specific mindscape which has escaped previous representational forms and is intrinsically linked to Russia's dramatic political and economic development since the turn of the 21st century.