I saw the movie on Thurs. night.It was very interesting, but I had read the biography of Tolstoy, which helped. The movie rarely mentions his novels and dwells instead on his socialist and utopian visions of his later years.
Mirren blows the roof off. And there are many scenes of tea (served in glasses) and brass samovars, which my Russian ancestors used. They all also ate jam off a spoon with their tea. The background, filled with peasants and picturesque animals, triggered thoughts of my maternal grandmother’s family. Her father was an estate manager and well-enough off to have his four sons take violin lessons. My grandmother got to be the family baby sitter and assistant housekeeper (and remained bitter about this until she died.)
Unfortunately, it was filmed in Germany, but still very evocative.
It had the authentic look of all the Merchant/Ivory films. If you decide to go, read the history on Wikipedia first. Otherwise, the story may seem muddled.