How does one play the complicated left hand chord in measure 155? I need directions geared toward the complete idiot. Thanks!

The chord seems fairly straightforward to me, but here are some observations and advice based on what I see some students have trouble with:

Fingering-wise, I use 52131

Roll it slower than you think you need to.

Since there are a lot of black keys, a higher wrist helps.

Let go of the lower notes early to make the higher notes easier to reach.

Don't put the hands together until you can play both easily from memory with your eyes closed.

My edition indicated 53212, but I prefer Kreisler's fingering because of my small hands. It also seems to be more what Chopin would have wanted (he didn't like big stretches).

Thanks, guys -

So what is puzzling me is what about those notes in front of the chord that appear like grace notes - are they just an indication to roll the chord? (Told you I'm a complete idiot.)

Yes, because they are tied to the big chord.

So all I do is roll the chord, nothing else?

Yes.
It is just a way to indicate a rolled chord.
There are several ways to indicate a rolled chord:



This image is from the New Grove Dictionary of Music and is accompanied by the following commentary:
The arpeggiation of a single chord (see also Ornaments) may be notated in a number of ways. The commonest method in present-day notation is shown in ex.2a; ex.2b shows the notation generally used by Mozart, Hummel and others of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Ex.2c and d show Türk’s notation for upwards and downwards arpeggios respectively (Clavierschule, 1789).

Thank you very much, both of you. I wanted to get that straight before I set anything in stone.