It seems like you have been able to grasp the essence of it, and yes, the movie does great justice to the wonderful book.
I wonder, however, with the subtitles between you and the Bulgakov's prose, how much falls the prey to untranslatable cultural undertones. Bulgakov's language is thick, every word is important, one misses one word in a long sentence and it loses its sharp focus.
A case in point - one of the most poignant parts to professor's monologues was the subject of Destruction... or "Razrukha" in Russian. One will not be able to fully feel the depth of the cuttingly sarcastic remarks without knowing the role that word has played in Soviet propaganda, its importance in the endless rhetoric. "Razrukha" was the all-encompassing excuse for all the bad things that the Revolution brought to the country... of course the bolsheviks "inherited" it, it was "forced" on them, imported and installed by the international aggressors. The professor goes to the heart of the problem, and his analysis is one of the many bright sparkles that populate Bulgakov's work.
The directing, the cinematography, the acting are all outstanding - including the discovery of Vladimir Tolokonnikov - Sharikov, totally unknown to that point.
If you liked this one, you might want to find his other works - particularly his Master and Margarita, and Idiot.
