The Soviet historical dramas Series "War and Peace" by Sergei Bondarchuk was a bold attempt to adapt the great novel by Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy for the screen. The plot of the four-part film faithfully follows the text and is executed with great respect for the work of the Russian writer. The saga begins in the Russian Empire in 1805. When Pierre Bezukhov, Natasha Rostova, and Prince Andrei Bolkonsky first appear before the audience, their youthful ambitions, despite their privileged status, compel the young people to seek true meaning in their lives. Good-natured but awkward Pierre, the illegitimate son of the richest man in Russia, wants to change the world for the better. Energetic Natasha seeks true love, while the handsome and gallant Andrei, disappointed by the superficiality of high society, strives for a higher purpose. At the same time, the French army led by Napoleon moves ever closer to Russia’s borders. Natasha’s older brother Nikolai joins the Imperial Russian Army. Beginning with the French military campaign against Russia and Austria in 1805, the story ends in 1812, after Napoleon is forced to flee Russia.
