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Ivan Lopatin, a Red Army soldier who has arrived in the village, convinces the peasants of the need to insure their livestock and buildings. But a kulak, on the advice of the priest, sets fire to Lopatin's yard. The fire destroys half of the village, and the priest, having quarreled with the kulak, tells the peasants the name of the arsonist. The kulak is arrested, and the peasants receive insurance money. The film ends with documentary footage of M.I. Kalinin's speech to the workers.
Director
Writer
Status
Released
Original Language
RU

A shell-shocked Afghanistan war hero named Ivan Skryabin (Mikhail Skryabin) spends his days stoking the fire in a giant coal furnace. When he isn’t tending the flames, he keeps busy with other activities. He works on a historical novel. His adult daughter Sasha (Aida Tumutova) comes to visit. Local kids come to gaze at the flames. Gangsters, including a former Army sergeant (Aleksandr Mosin) and a sniper known as Bison (Yuri Matveyev), drop by to add special kindling to the fire.

Georgy is driving a load of freight into Russia when, after an unpleasant encounter with the police at a border crossing, he finds himself giving a lift to a strange old man with disturbing stories about his younger days in the Army. After next picking up a young woman who works as a prostitute and is wary of the territory, Georgy finds himself lost, and despite asking some homeless men for help, he’s less sure than he was before of how to make his way back where he belongs. As brutal images of violence and alienation cross the screen, Georgy’s odyssey becomes darker and more desperate until it reaches an unexpected conclusion.