I watched this adaptation just after having finished the novel. To adapt his last and longest novel with the intention of following the source material as close as possible, and succeeding, is, alone, worthy of praise. This adaptation follows the original novel with all the important scenes, no characters being left out, while changing certain things from the novel just enough so that the story works better in the film format rather than prose narrative.
Giving the characters the attention they deserve was done very effectively in this adaptation. Comparatively to the 1958 film, one major flaw I saw was the lack of development given to Ivan, and even Alyosha neither of whom in that film is got anywhere near the time they deserved. That is not so in this version, with the 12 episodes, Mitya, Ivan, Alyosha and Smerdyakov all get sufficient development so they are understood, especially if one hasn't read the novel.
All the major actors do their roles quite well, especially Aleksandr Golubev as Alyosha, the hero of the whole tale; Sergey Gorobchenko is also well performed and can easily be empathized with as Mitya, and Pavel Derevyanko is also superb as the mysterious and cruel Smerdyakov. Sergey Koltakov did the role as the selfish and hedonistic Fyodor Karamazov as if the character was right from the pages. The actors for the other minor characters are also well chosen, whether that is Mariya Shalayeva as Alyosha's mischievous love interest Lise, or the gentleman who portrayed Father Zosima. The only slight casting error I think was made was the two central women: Grushenka and Katya, played respectively by Elena Lyadova and Viktoriya Isakova. Both are very good actresses, but I sort of feel it *might* have worked better if their roles were reversed, with Mrs. Isakova as Grushenka and Ms. Lyadova as Katya. It's doesn't at all detract from the show however and they both nonetheless did quite well with their very emotional roles they played.
Most other aspects of the series are great as well: the cinematography, while clearly on a budget, was often beautiful, and the music was atmospheric and added to the emotions felt.
Overall, the series is a great adaptation of Dostoevsky's final novel that captures all the drama, emotion and power of the novel for anyone looking to experience the novel again, or just wants to familiarize themselves with the story before reading it.
Highly recommended.
