Diamonds. Theft marks Diana Vishneva’s debut in cinema and quite naturally features the juxtaposition of drama and ballet. Diana’s role in Khamdamov’s film pivots on something she has been familiar with since childhood – ballet. The 35-year-old award-winning prima plays a ballerina who commits a “crime of passion” when she steals a diamond brooch and gives it as a present to a fellow dancer. One of Russia’s most poetic and unconventional artists, the creator of Anna Karamazoff starring Jeanne Moreau, Khamdamov was quoted as saying that his film is first and foremost about love and kindness, rather than a trivial “crime and punishment”. The star of Sleeping Beauty, Giselle and Swan Lake, just to name a few, the Mariinsky’s darling has in fact revealed that, apart from being a novice in film, she also had to try another completely new role in Diamonds. Theft – that of a chorus girl, which she said felt quite unusual for the acclaimed lead dancer. Rumor has it that Vishneva was actually offered one of the lead roles in the Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, but eventually preferred Russian Diamonds. Theft over American movie.