This glorious excursion into Technicolor, with cartoon elements, is one of the most beautiful in the rich strain of Russian cinematic fantasy, and it is also very true to the spirit of the Russian/Ukrainian master Nikolai Gogol. The tale of a village blacksmith sent by his beloved on an endless quest on Christmas Eve, ending in St. Petersburg and with a stop along the way for a conference with the devil, has been filmed a few times in Russian cinema history, but never with so much charm and such a rich feeling for the satiric, folkloric power of the source material.