Only two months after the release of "Turkish Gambit" -- the top film at the Russian box office this year -- Erast Fandorin, the hero of Boris Akunin's popular series of detective novels, has returned to the big screen. This time, Fandorin appears in Filipp Yankovsky's adaptation of "The State Counselor" (Statsky Sovetnik). Although comparisons are inevitable, the dynamics of the two films are notably different. "Turkish Gambit" was marked by grand wartime landscapes, while "State Counselor" has a much more interior atmosphere. Set in wintry, pre-Revolutionary Moscow, it hones in on emotional interactions rather than sweeping visual panoramas.

This makes "State Counselor" more gripping than the somewhat distracted "Turkish Gambit." Still, Yankovsky rises to the demands of making a large-scale film - which is impressive given the fact that it's only his second feature, following his "In Movement" from 2002.

The lead actor from "In Movement," Konstantin Khabensky, figures strongly in "State Counselor", playing the tightest character in a film dominated by a trio of male roles. Khabensky plays Grin, the leader of a cell of radicals committed to regime change. Up against him is Fandorin, the counselor of the film's title, played by Oleg Menshikov, as well as a more senior operative, Pozharsky, who has been dispatched to Moscow from St. Petersburg in the aftermath of the film's opening event, the assassination of a government minister.

The balance between the three is tricky indeed, with rival loyalties - not to mention romantic interests - overcoming any simple definition as to who exactly is on whose side. Meanwhile, an array of less important characters provide a wider perspective on the society of the time; played by some of the biggest stars in Russian film, they certainly catch the viewer's attention.

But it's Nikita Mikhalkov as Pozharsky who dominates the proceedings. Authoritative, manipulative and comic all at once, the role seems made for the actor-director - which was entirely possible, considering that Mikhalkov was the film's producer and played a crucial role in its development. Moreover, for those who have seen Mikhalkov operate in real life, the resemblance between life and art is sometimes uncanny.

The film's denouement revolves around a familiar theme for Mikhalkov: the role of the ruler, and of patriotism and statism in general, in Russia. Pozharsky is cynical enough to engage with the enemy as an antidote to what he sees as a corrupted existing order - though that engagement ultimately proves fatal.

Mikhalkov's character is certainly rounded, at times indulgently so. Khabensky's revolutionary is more focused. He is an individual defined by his political goals, almost to the exclusion of anything else, including human contact. It's the title role of Fandorin, however, that could have been more fleshed out. There are no accompanying visuals to compensate for Menshikov's on-screen emotional coldness, although there is an attempt to do this in the film's closing scene.

While the character of Fandorin may, in part, be defined by his lack of engagement - Yegor Beroyev in "Turkish Gambit" was considerably more human - the weakest parts of "State Counselor" are those concerning the detective's own love interests. A peripheral bit involving Fandorin's Japanese manservant is a curio rather than a real piece of character development. Foreign viewers may see an inadvertent echo of Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau character, who had his own Asian domestic helper in the "Pink Panther" films. Here, however, the master-servant relationship arguably has a latent homoerotic subtext.

Yankovsky convincingly captures Akunin's idea that loyalty on both sides, among revolutionaries and state officials alike, is relative. Informers and traitors abound, creating a feeling of suspense that does much to drive the narrative - although viewers not familiar with the novel may have to concentrate hard to keep abreast of the plot. The film's supporting roles - including Fyodor Bondarchuk as a brutal colonel, Oleg Tabakov as a venerable prince and Mikhail Yefremov as a comically over-indulged state official - offer an enjoyable diversion. Also enjoyable are actresses such as Oksana Fandera and Maria Mironova, who play roles from different sides of the barricades.

Vladislav Opelyants' sumptuous cinematography captures turn-of-the-century Moscow in a somewhat idealistic style. Some of the wider shots are reminiscent of Mikhalkov's 1999 film "The Barber of Siberia," while some of the street scenes, shot on a Mosfilm set, will be familiar to anyone who has seen Karen Shakhnazarov's "A Rider Named Death," another film about pre-Revolutionary terrorists that came out last year. To the credit of Opelyants and Yankovsky, however, "State Counselor" is most impressive in scenes that are set in far-from-glamorous interiors and in close-ups that achieve an element of emotional engagement often missing from the film's grander moments.

"The State Counselor" (Statsky Sovetnik) is playing at theaters citywide.