Born in Moscow in 1945 into a family of the Soviet cultural elite (his father wrote the Soviet national anthem lyrics, his brother is the director Andrei Konchalovsky), Nikita Mikhalkov trained as an actor and at VGIK. His early work, such as An Unfinished Piece for Mechanical Piano (1977), adapted Chekhov. Oblomov and Dark Eyes (1987) were loose literary adaptations. Burnt by the Sun (1994), about a Red Army hero during the Stalinist purges, won the Oscar for foreign language film and the Grand Prize of the Jury at Cannes. He is also a controversial public figure and a supporter of Vladimir Putin.
Filmography
- Slave of Love (1976)
- An Unfinished Piece for Mechanical Piano (1977)
- Oblomov (1980)
- Dark Eyes (1987)
- Close to Eden (1991)
- Burnt by the Sun (1994)
- The Barber of Siberia (1998)
- 12 (2007)
- Sunstroke (2014)