Yes, a family is interesting. You can get a lot of drama in the conflicts there. It's like the sea. It seems calm, but inside there is conflict.

I am hopeful that films can connect people who are in conflict in a separated world.

When I was 27, I won an honorable mention in a scriptwriting contest and got a television job as an assistant director.

My mother was really against it when I said I wanted to make films. She said that I should be a civil servant because that was safe, and it had security. But my mother was always very proud of my movies and would give videocassettes of them to all the neighbours.

Moscow is a big city. It's all nerves - something's always happening somewhere. D.C. is a quiet, calm family town.

My biggest fear in life is living Nativity scenes. I hide in cars and drive around looking at them. Something about it is really scary to me. What parent would put their child in there with mules and camels and straw?

The phenomenon of home schooling is a wonderful example of the American can-do attitude. Growing numbers of parents have become disenchanted with government-run public schools. Many parents have simply taken matters into their own hands, literally.

I would never sing a song which I cannot sing in front of my family.