It's a funny thing about Russia...for a short while, back in the 1940's we were allies. There was even a saying, as I recall, that Russians were like Americans without the creases in their pants. That changed for awhile during the cold war.
But truth be told, I suspect that the US and Russia will become good friends. Perhaps American innovation combined with a drop of Russian ruthlessness is what's needed to win the war on terrorism.
It very well might. When the Kursk went down, I remember despising Clinton for not pre-positioning our Navy deep submersibles, which were a few days away, just in case the Russians finally broke down and asked for help. They probably would finally have asked for help had it been within reach it became clear they didn't have the hardware to do the job and their people were certain to die. That would have been a timeless gesture of friendship that would have long sealed the bond between our two countries. Particularly if some of those men might have been brought up.