AllMovie

The Russian Aleko was adapted from A. S. Pushkin's poem The Gypsies. The title character, played by A. Ognivsev, is a hot-blooded gypsy youth who falls in love with a very pretty -- and very married -- young lady named Zemphrya (I. Zubkovskaya). Despite her wedded status, Zemphrya cannot resist that handsome Aleko. Their illicit affair comes to an abrupt and violent conclusion at the hands of her husband. Elevating Aleko from the norm is the rich, full-blooded musical score by no less than Sergei Rachmaninoff, who transformed the Pushkin original into a filmed opera.