Sergei Eisenstein ~ Ivan the Terrible

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_the_Terrible_(film)

Sergei Eisenstein ~ Battleship Potemkin

Film by...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Eisenstein

...In 1920, Sergei was transferred to a command position in Minsk, after success providing propaganda for the October Revolution. At this time, Sergei studied Japanese—he learned some three hundred kanji characters which he cited as an influence on his pictorial development,[11] and gained an exposure to Kabuki theatre;[12] these studies led to travel to Japan...

^Italics mine

This is an excellent site for Kanji...
http://www.kanjisite.com/index.html