Nikita Mikhalkov-Konchalovski was born in Moscow on October 28, 1945. He first wanted to become an actor and eventually chose directing, while continuing to act in a number of films. After studying at VGIK (class of M. Romm), Mikhalkov directed A quiet day at the end of the war , medium length film. His films, from Friend among enemies, enemy among his own , evoking the struggle between "Reds" and "Whites" at the dawn of the Bolshevik revolution, as well as L 'Slave of love , evoke the intimate history of beings against the background of the violence of History, during the Soviet period.
Mikhalkov prefers intrigue from the past, which allows him to avoid censorship.
Nikita Mikhailkov never left the U.S.S.R., but has always kept his distance from the regime. From the end of the 1980s, with the liberalization of the regime, he toured with the help of France, The Black Eyes and Urga, his greatest international successes. Then he turns, co-produced with France, Anna and Soleil trompeur , of which he plays the main role himself: Mikhalkov denounces the cruelty of Stalinism and Gulag : his nostalgia for eternal Russia, that of the time of the tsars, appears in these films, and in his fresco, (presented at the opening of the 52nd Cannes Festival) The Barber of Siberia where he plays himself- even the role of sovereign Alexander III.