If, like Bolkonsky, we are not Eastern Orthodox believers, we may still settle for awe, the earthly pleasure of aesthetic spectacle linked with historical enlightenment.

These swordplay movies (imitated by Quentin Tarantino in "Kill Bill") have come to dominate Japanese exports these days, "Asian extreme" films (and particularly the work of Takashi Miike) that bring to a new level the Japanese taste for what Mr. Richie calls "violence as an aesthetic spectacle."

People who are not Eastern Orthodox believers can enjoy the earthly pleasures of aesthetic spectacle linked with historical enlightenment.