Yeah I've heard a lot of good things about the film from people that grew up with it, but also heard that a lot of people can't connect with it. In my case it really was that things were lost in translation with me.

I'm going to check out those films when I have the time! I'm actually roaming through some former Soviet Republics this past year. I was in Armenia for about 8 months and just arrived in Georgia. I want to go to Russia at some point but that's a little bit difficult in comparison. Kazakhstan is a great option sometime. The Soviet history is incredibly fascinating, especially in the architecture.