Late one evening a visitor arrives. Hearing the familiar sound of coughing, Levin runs downstairs to greet his brother Nicolai. He has come, as Levin requested, to receive his share of a recently sold family estate. Although happy to see him, Levin feels frightened as he kisses the dry skin and looks into the unnaturally glittering eyes. Death, since it marks his own brother, confronts him for the first time and with an especially irresistible force.
Despite their deep affection, their conversation is insincere and disagreeable. Though Levin knows his brother is trying to hide his fear of death, he is stung by the bitter criticisms the sick man makes of his new system. Nicolai accuses him of being communistic, that Levin lacking conviction just reorganizes the peasants to flatter his self-esteem. After Nicolai leaves, Levin sees death or the advances of death in everything. He works harder than ever to realize his scheme, feeling this the one thread to guide him through the ever impending darkness.
