The most celebrated yet least seen of the early Soviet directors, Lev Kuleshov is known for a seminal workshop in which he instructed a new generation of filmmakers in his innovative new principles of film construction, including the so-called "Kuleshov effect" of film editing. The seriousness of his teachings notwithstanding, Kuleshov was drawn to comedy, and this tale of an American named West who visits Moscow accompanied by his cowboy valet is his masterpiece. Mixing satire with sight gags, Kuleshov parodies American-style serials as he tracks the hapless, Harold Lloyd-like West and his six-gun toting sidekick through their encounters with mad, savage Russians and thieving Bolsheviks.