By the Will of Genghis Khan [DVD] [2009]

Arriving on the heels of Sergei Bodrov's massive arthouse hit Mongol (2007), Russian director Andrei Borissov's By the Will of Genghis Khan also dramatizes the life and exploits of the titular Mongol warrior who overran China in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. The picture undertakes a unique approach to its subject: in lieu of portraying Khan as a barbaric, psychopathic killer as many western films and books do, this outing paints a picture of him as an unqualified hero and the founder of one of China's most successful dynasties, the Mongol Dynasty. At the time of its production, this motion picture checked in as incredibly expensive by Russian standards, with a budget in excess of $10 million dollars. In an effort to reach a massive international audience, producers enlisted a cast comprised of many western actors, including Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Heroes, Memoirs of a Geisha) and Orgil Makhaan, star of the 2005 BBC miniseries Genghis Khan.~Nathan Southern