The essay explores the artistic and expressive features of the world's firstfilm adaptation of Dostoevsky's novel The Idiot, directed in 1910 by Pyotr Chardynin.The author substantiates the degree of influence of one of the most importantphilosophical concepts of the novel — that of a split in the human personality — onRussian national consciousness at the beginning of the 20th century. The analysisof the figurative system of the film shows that its semantics and the images of itscharacters were ahead of its time and, therefore, deserve closer critical attention.In the The Idiot the idea of Dostoevsky about a human being’s separateness in theworld is revealed in the four main characters — Prince Myshkin, Parfyon Rogozhin,Nastasya Filippovna and Aglaya — who are not “complete”, full-fledged personalitiesbut separate components of a harmonious human personality. These characters, likepuzzle pieces, possess mutually complementary qualities. Thus, Prince Myshkin,the bearer of the highest spirituality, is contrasted with the earthly and passionateRogozhin. And the images of Nastasya Filippovna and Aglaya are connected,respectively, with the images of Heavenly Love and Earthly Love. If the charactersof the novel could unite with each other in love and harmony, the world would get a“complete” harmonious person, like the one created by God for the Garden of Eden.However, such a merger seems impossible within the limits of earthly existence. InDostoevsky's novel the individual parts of the soul could not unite into a harmoniouswhole. Egoism, passion, pride and imperfection of human nature do allow theprotagonists to unite and lead them towards personal disintegration.In Russian national cinema, Dostoevsky’s idea of human being’s separatenessundergoes a number of transformations. The changes introduced by PyotrChardynin into the film adaptation of the novel mostly relate to the image of thefilm’s main protagonist — Nastasya Filippovna, whom the filmmaker associateswith a dying Russia. Chardynin also transforms other protagonists. Prince Myshkinis the only carrier of the highest spirituality, while Nastasya Filippovna, Aglaya andRogozhin are earthly and passionate. At the end of the film, Nastasya Filippovna’smurderer Rogozhin, dressed in a Russian folk costume, sobs at the bedside of thedead “tsarina”, while “heavenly prince” Myshkin who was not accepted by her in herlifetime, comforts the sinner. Chardynin’s film transforms the idea of a split in thehuman personality into the idea of the Russian separateness from God, the internalsplit within the Russian world and, as a consequence, that world’s inevitable death.