Alexandra is the fourth film by Russian cineaste Alexander Sokurov to be presented In Competition. Moloch won Best Screenplay in 1999; selections since have been Taurus (2001) and Father and Son (2003). Alexandra is a story with a political background: a Russian grandmother goes to visit her grandson, an officer stationed in the Republic of Chechnya. Sokurov gave the title role to Galina Vishnevskaya, who, at 80, is a legend of the Russian opera scene, and the widow of the great cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. Unfortunately, due to illness, both the director and the leading woman had to cancel their trip to Cannes.

On the ambition driving his latest feature, Alexander Sokurov said: "For me this story is not about the actual but about the eternal. Not about present-day Russia, its policies in the Caucasus, its army, but about the eternal life of Russia. War is always a terrible thing. In this film about war there is no war.  (…) Our film is a work of fiction, not a political act. In the film, we are looking for ways to bring people together, and we find them."