As the battle of Borodino is the turning point in the war between France and Russia, the eve of the event provides a lull-before-the-storm where men take stock of their lives and make peace with their past as if preparing to die. Ambition-ruled men like Bennigsen, who plots to show the incompetence of his rival Kutuzov, and Boris, who is occupied by self-seeking, are set in comparison to Kutuzov as he kneels in prayer; Dolohov, who embraces his former rival Pierre; Andrey, who regards his past life; and Bezuhov, who is on the threshold of discovering life on this eve of death. Even the social round of Petersburg runs a more fevered course at the nearness of danger.
Having seen the faces of soldiers who are close to death, Pierre recognizes the expectation of death in his friend Bolkonsky. He understands Prince Andrey's coldness as part of his turning away from the past in order to accept death with a full sense of immediacy and without misgivings.
In these chapters we begin to learn more about General Kutuzov, the savior of Russia, because he is as deeply Russian as Suvorov and Potemkin, old Prince Bolkonsky's heroes. Prince Andrey carefully observes the lack of personal will in this aged veteran who merely acts as a catalyst, allowing the forces of destiny to work through him while he remains unchanged and makes no changes. With intuition and emotion, not sentiment or intellect, Kutuzov understands the state of mind of the Russian troops and can assess its moral force.
