Sokurov’s Faust is the culmination of the director’s “Tetralogy of Power” series, following Moloch, Taurus, and The Sun. While the first three films depict major powers of the twentieth century, including Hitler, Lenin, and Hirohito, Faust is based on the Goethe classic. In Sokurov’s version, a poverty-stricken Faust pawns his ring for money. The moneylender, Muller, replaces Goethe’s Mephistopheles, and the ring, devalued by Muller, symbolizes the academic achievement Faust has acquired in his lifetime. The problem of hunger can be resolved with money, but it requires collateral; the problem of seeking to confirm one’s existence through acts of lust can be resolved with women, but it requires one’s soul in exchange. The body is a prerequisite in both situations. Unlike in Goethe’s novel, Sokurov leads the audience recognize the reality of problems related to the soul and the body by placing money in the contract process between Faust and Muller. Using Homunculus made by Wagner, Faust’s assistant, the director also alludes to the status and illusion of the bodiless soul. Shortly after engaging in sexual intercourse with Margarete, Faust realizes that time has stopped. By introducing earlier in the film the expression of time from the second par of Goethe’s novel, Sokurov shows his intention to dilute Faust’s salvation. The scene of Valentin’s expression of gratitude introduces the issue of an empowerd Faust, and a moment involving a volcanic crater portrays the protagonist’s arrogance in attempting to go beyond God. Eventually, by smashing Muller with a stone, Faust becomes a man of power who can even punish evil. Sokurov’s messgae is that there is no salvation for this empowered Faust.