ShortfilmEmpireisbasedonaradiodramaSorry,WrongNumberbytheAmericanwriterLucilleFletcher.Actually,Sokurovdrawsonasinglethemeformingthebackgroundforthestoryofthethriller—thewoman'sillness…Theheroineisbed–riddenandheronlymeansofcommunicationwiththeoutsideworldishertelephone—untilakillerinterruptstheconversation… Sokurovremovesallthedialogues,leavingusalonewiththeheroine—“alivingskeleton”amongtherefined,withatouchofModern–style,furnishings—whoislisteningtoaradiobroadcastingofTraviata,withitspleasformercyandlove.Anelegantcoffin–homeisthespatialcentreandsymbolizationoftheentirefilm.Andinsidethecoffinwecertainlyseetheactress—thefamousRussianballerinaAllaOsipenkowhoplaysnotonlytheheroinebutalsoherownself. Thismetaphoriccinema–imagebearsanallusiontothegreat“handicapped”SarahBernhardtwhowasreportedtosleepinacoffin,aswellastotheentirecomplexofaesthetisedDecadence,convertinganapologyofDeathintoalifestyle.Hereisthekeytothecodeofthetitle.Empireisastylethatattemptedtoreanimatethedeadancientharmony.TheheroineofSokurov'sfilmcommunicateswithherphoneastheonlypartner,andsortofinterfereswiththebeyond,attractingthisair—intangibleyetsaturatedwithdanger.Itisfromtheradioairthatsheaccumulatesbothpleasureandtranquillity—theariaofdyingyetbelovedVioletta,whilethekiller'ssilhouettematerializesfromthephoneair.Achamberpot,overturnedandspiltbythekillerinhaste,remainstheonlyevidenceofhumanactivitiesinthisboudoirofDeath.Sokurov'smetaphor,cladinnaturalisticdetails,producestheeffectofironicdisclosure:“awetspot”isleftafterasymbol. ThefilmwasshotasastudyworkofaVGIKstudentS.Sidorov.AtthattimeSokurovdidnothaveachancetolaunchaprojectofhisown,thereforeheusedthispossibilitytowork.VisualconceptionofthisfilmanticipatesaconsiderablenumberofSokurov'sfutureexperiments:lightthatmodelsthespace,levellingofcolours,correlationofcontrastingtextures.