In the suburbs of Moscow, reigned around 1571 Tsar Ivan IV, 'the Terrible'. Widowed, he is looking for a new wife for the third time. He chooses the young Marfa; she loves another man but bends to the will of the Tsar and renounces her love.

From this starting plot, the Russian director Dmitri Tcherniakov retains only the frame. A live competition is organised for a virtual monarch like in a reality show called 'Joe Millionaire' where competitors attempt to marry a rich man. Here, the characters become the various players of the audiovisual industry, bringing an acerbic criticism of contemporary TV.

Cast:
- Vasily Sobakin: Anatoli Kotscherga
- Marfa: Olga Peretyatko
- Grigory Gryaznoy: Johannes Martin Kränzle
- Grigory Malyuta-Skuratov: Tobias Schabel
- Ivan Lykov: Pavel Ernoch
- Lyubasha: Anita Rachvelishvili
- Bomelius: Stephan Rügamer
- Domna Saburova: Anna Tomowa-Sintow
- Dunyasha: Anna Lapkovskaya
- Petrovna: Carola Höhn

Stage Direction, Set Design: Dmitri Tcherniakov

Recorded (HD) at Staatsoper, Im Schiller Theater Berlin, in October 2013.

Running time: 152 min
Booklet: FR / ENG / DE
Subtitles: FR / ENG / DE
16/9, Full HD
Sound: PCM 2.0, DTS HD Master Audio