Leo Tolstoy (Plummer), the great writer of such tomes as “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina”, senses he is nearing the end of his life and starts to make arrangements to leave his works to the Russian people. Earnest members within the pacifist community he has surrounded himself with – in particular Vladimir Cherdkov (Giamatti) – plot to make this a part of Tolstoy’s will, much to the chagrin of Tolstoy’s wife, Sofya (Mirren). In the middle of this feud steps Valentin Bulgarov (McAvoy), Tolstoy’s new secretary and someone whom Sofya senses will sympathise with her side of the issue.

Anyone who has seen a high quality film of the Noughties will know that Mirren will give another of her splendid performances here, as it is what she always does. The real revelation here though is Plummer – after a lifetime of roles in famous movies like The Sound Of Music, The Battle of Britain, 12 Monkeys, The Insider and A Beautiful Mind, he has performed his finest celluloid acting here, in the twilight of his career. He and Mirren make a wonderful Tolstoy couple, and transform what could have been a run-of-the-mill period piece into something to treasure. Other actors like Giamatti offer solid support, but it is the Mirren-Plummer show through and through. My advice is to come along and enjoy.