The strongest parts of the documentary focus on the Russian attempts to thwart Nazi invasion. The heroism of the civilian populations in Stalingrad and Leningrad is harrowing.

The weakest part of the documentary is the ridiculous and unnecessary inclusion of Henry Kissinger, who is not noted to be an expert on Soviet History. Thankfully, you can fast forward through his 5 minute introductory segments.

This documentary will fascinate anyone with an interest in Russian history, Stalin or Hitler.

The fourth topic is presented the least successfully. The presentation of the sequence of battles is short, disorganized and generally unintelligible. Those interested in military history and analysis should look elsewhere -- the four-tape series entitled "The Russuian Front," featuring Professor John Erickson is infinitely superior.

There is, unfortunately, only so much that one can say or show about the specifics of mass murder. This series suffers from two defects in that regard: (1) it relies upon propaganda films produced by both sides, and (2) the viewer eventually become benumbed by pictures of innocent civilians hanging from telephone poles or stacked like cordwood in mass graves. This is not to say that this subject is unimportant, simply that the mode of presentation does not support the level of consideration that the subject deserves.

The series is most successful in its detailing of Stalin's treachery towards his political comrades, the Russian army and the country's peasants. The man was a mass murderer, plain and simple. This film, based upon recently released information, details his treachery and should be of interest to students of the history of the Soviet political system

And Dr. Henry Kissinger? He makes a cameo appearance at the beginning of each of the ten segments, says a few eminently forgettable words, and then disappears. As is so often the case, PBS wasted his talents.

In summary, this series is like a dinner in a Chinese restaurant -- you enjoy it at the time, but are hungry again an hour later.

Alas, this documentary falls very clearly into the latter category. They describe the Hitler Youth as "innocence devoured by evil", the thousand year Reich as "Hitler's dark vision", and so on. They use corny phrases like that from the first tape to the last.

Outside of that, the actual coverage of Russia's War is actually minimal. These tapes seem more focused on the atrocities commited by both sides, with the focus on the War itself being somewhat more sporadic. If you like that sort of thing, this might be your series. Otherwise, look for the more enjoyable series "War of the Century", and give this one a pass.