I don't want to say this was the best concert ever, the most touching or the most gripping or the most enlightening. They didn't actually sing all their (subjectively speaking) best songs, there were a few disappointments and, of course, comparisons of concerts are not always really possible. But this concert definitely came close to surpassing even the group's own high standards.

That's understandable, considering the stage know-how Depeche Mode has accumulated from the long, drawn-out tours in the group's 20-year history. Even those who attended the band's concert in Moscow at the same venue three years ago said that they hadn't expected the second coming to overshadow their remembrances.

Thousands of fans formed lines in front of the Olympiisky sport complex Sept. 16 long before the scheduled start. Still, the stadium was only half-full for the British female synth-pop duet Technique – Depeche Mode's opening act – due to the slower-than-usual filtration process but, soon enough, the hall filled up to the brim.

The stage emanated intense energy, even though Dave Gahan (vocals), Martin Gore (songwriter, guitar) and Andy Fletcher (synthesizer) had already been on their "Exciter" tour for a few months. Watching footage from the mid-1980s, it's hard to believe that those romantically wild, funny-sound-producing kids with high haircuts were the same ones conducting this ever-sharp concert.

The crowd consisted of widely diverse age groups, but in general it was representative of the veteran (mid-20s) Depeche Mode lovers, visibly craving a few of the older songs for the sake of nostalgia. Surprisingly, the band's playlist was not inundated with songs from the new "Exciter" album, or even with must-do hits like "Personal Jesus," "Walking in My Shoes" or "Enjoy the Silence," but it included a number of unexpected tracks that at times allowed Gore to demonstrate his stirring singing talent.

Gahan more than once had the audience sing in his place while he convulsively twisted around and made strange movements with his hips. Soon, virtually everyone, even those who didn't consider themselves fanatic Depeche Mode fans, were chanting out the lyrics they found engraved in their unconscious minds. "All I ever wanted, All I ever needed, Is here in my arms…" sounded very mystical coming from more than 10,000 people simultaneously.

Decorations were unnecessary, as visual support was provided by video projections on a huge screen. Clips of a changing mountainous landscape for "Sister of Night" or a black-and-white five-minute projection of plopping rain drops for "Waiting for the Night" were utterly in harmony with both the songs' respective feels and the seemingly primitive but stunning gyrations of two female back-up singers. Perhaps the installation with the most traction was for "In Your Room," where two virtual gold fish swam side by side in a void above a shark.

One of the keys to Depeche Mode's everlastingly popularity is that their talent's spiral continues to unwind, although perhaps with less momentum and in a more relaxed way. Thus the performances of older tracks were never just a repeat or a dash back into the song's initial attitude – into how Gahan or Gore felt when the tune was born – but were rather a new creation.