For readers concerned with the future direction of cinema, “Russian Ark,” is essential viewing. Directed by Aleksandr Sokurov, who has made his mark on a century-long trail of Russian visionary filmmakers paved by Sergei Eisenstein and Andrei Tarkovsky, “Russian Ark” is the first feature-length film executed in only one shot.

“I am sick of editing,” Sokurov said before the film’s initial stages. “Let’s not be afraid of time.” With “Russian Ark,” Sokurov, who has directed for the past two decades and recently began experimenting with video, completed what has instantly been recognized as a milestone in cinematic history.

The film itself has somewhat of a simple premise: it takes the first person point of view of a passive narrator led by a mysterious figure named The Stranger who dresses entirely in black. The Stranger leads this man — and thus, the camera — through dozens of rooms in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. Each room takes place in a different era of Russian history and Sokurov gives each section of the museum its own eerie tone.

Many films have famously opened with one uninterrupted tracking shot, such as Welles’ “Touch of Evil” and Robert Altman’s “The Player.” Hitchcock’s “Rope” (1948) created the illusion of a one shot take, but was actually a series of eight ten-minute takes pieced together with smooth transitions.

Hitchcock could not complete the film in a single shot because 35mm film cannot run for that long in a Panavision camera. It also would have been much more difficult for the actors and crew to rehearse and execute the movie without pauses. Sokurov, however, shot “Russian Ark” on High Definition Digital Video, which looks just as good as film.

But the story behind the film’s preparation is more elaborate than the story of the film itself. Before arriving at the actual shooting day, Sokurov supervised months of rehearsals. Three live orchestras, 867 actors and hundreds of additional extras were committed to the project.

The result is most impressive. “Russian Ark” succeeds in writing a new chapter in cinematic history, much like Griffith’s “The Birth of a Nation” (1915), Cassavetes’ “Shadows” (1959), or Godard’s “Breathless” (1960).

Yet, also like those films, “Russian Ark” falls short when taken out of context.

The film’s most problematic facet lies in its sluggish ability to compel the audience. This hitch mainly relates to the lack of plot. While the constantly swerving camera and curiosity- piquing plot should be enough to captivate an audience for 90 minutes, the film still feels somewhat empty. Perhaps it needs more conflict, or perhaps the audience needs to know more characters by name. ***

But alas, Sokurov’s vision of “Russian Ark” foresaw nothing more than to present the museum in all its breathtaking beauty, and represent much of Russia’s culture and history over the last 300 years. And that vision alone is quite an achievement.