The two characters featured in Prisoner of the Mountains seem to illustrate both the darker aspects of Russian culture as well as a potential domestic discomfort with these aspects. Sasha seems to be an archetypical, hardened Russian soldier. The first thing he is seen doing in the film is drinking before randomly firing off his weapon for fun. Despite being a soldier, Sasha oozes chaos. This marriage between discipline and unpredictability takes the shape of cunning. Indeed, As the film progresses, we see his ability to take advantage of people soar into the spotlight when, after escaping with Vanya, sneakily kills a Shepphard to get his weapon.

Vanya frequently seems somewhat uncomfortable with Sasha’s methods, and tells him that he had never killed anyone before. Despite claiming he is willing to learn, Vanya often seems disturbed at the sight of violence. He lacks Sasha’s hard edge, and, despite his incredible physical dexterity (employed to fix watches and pick locks,) Vanya lacks any real cunning, instead possessing the ability to sympathize with his enemies.

Sasha’s strength and guile represent some of the virtues which Russian culture seems to hold dear. But Vanya’s discomfort with them demonstrates that Russian culture has the ability to self critique. The movie reveals a sense of anxiety and tension between Russian cunning and Russian compassion. On one hand, the Russian character is aggrandized in its ability to outwit and overcome, represented by Sasha. On the other hand, Russian character is aggrandize in its supposed ability to save the world, represented by Vanya, who ends the movie with a desperate attempt to stop his own compatriots from obliterating the enemy village which he had grown to love.