Anatoli Dubinkin

Varvara and Pavel Zhdanov did not live long together. The war broke out and Pavel went to the front, and a hard, exhausting job at a metallurgical plant fell on the shoulders of a young woman...

Directed by Bolotbek Shamshiyev, the movie shows Kyrgyzstan under early Soviet rule; and tells us about opium contrabanda across the border.

A film anthology featuring three stories: 1) “The Capron Christmas Tree” - Two men and a city dandy, courting a village girl, return home on New Year’s Eve, with the dandy’s nylon Christmas tree gift offending the men. 2) “A Ticket for the Second Showing” - Timofey, an elderly village swindler, regrets his life and prays to Saint Nicholas for a second chance. 3) “The Version” - A rural braggart recounts his city adventure with a restaurant manager, challenging disbelievers to join him on a repeat trip.

The thirst for a miracle lives in every person. The hero of the film, Fedor, witnesses an accident, as a result of which people close to him die. He decides that he was not saved by chance and now must change his life. Fedor is trying to live the way Orthodox hermits lived, tormenting himself with prayers and fasts. In this new world, he finds a guide - Father Hilarion. The hermit finally has hope that he will soon become an eyewitness of Revelation. But Father Hilarion is being killed absurdly and senselessly. Having experienced deep despair, Fedor will return to the people, experience love and jealousy, hatred and fear. And only when he reaches the edge - having decided to kill - will he become a witness of a miracle...

Varvara and Pavel Zhdanov did not live long together. The war broke out and Pavel went to the front, and a hard, exhausting job at a metallurgical plant fell on the shoulders of a young woman...

A film anthology featuring three stories: 1) “The Capron Christmas Tree” - Two men and a city dandy, courting a village girl, return home on New Year’s Eve, with the dandy’s nylon Christmas tree gift offending the men. 2) “A Ticket for the Second Showing” - Timofey, an elderly village swindler, regrets his life and prays to Saint Nicholas for a second chance. 3) “The Version” - A rural braggart recounts his city adventure with a restaurant manager, challenging disbelievers to join him on a repeat trip.

A film anthology featuring three stories: 1) “The Capron Christmas Tree” - Two men and a city dandy, courting a village girl, return home on New Year’s Eve, with the dandy’s nylon Christmas tree gift offending the men. 2) “A Ticket for the Second Showing” - Timofey, an elderly village swindler, regrets his life and prays to Saint Nicholas for a second chance. 3) “The Version” - A rural braggart recounts his city adventure with a restaurant manager, challenging disbelievers to join him on a repeat trip.