Vladimir Ananyev

Shust and his friends commit small-time scams for a living, taking advantage of any opportunity that comes their way. Meeting Ulyanov, the former Soviet Union shot put champion, and his daughter opens Shust's eyes to a completely different way of living. But under his gang's pressure, he uses Ulyanov to plan a heist on a Buryat jade-trading commune.

Successful businessman Sergey Gorbatov has long since lost his former drive, having grown accustomed to a measured, predictable pace of life. His world is upended, however, when his fifteen-year-old daughter, Liza, moves to join him in Krasnoyarsk. Liza views the relocation as a form of exile and sees her father as an indifferent egoist. In an effort to regain her respect, Gorbatov makes an unexpected decision: he sets out to turn a group of children from an orphanage into a proper football team. This endeavor leads both him and the teenagers through a series of challenges, conflicts, and triumphs—ultimately forcing each of them to reconsider their outlook on the world and on themselves.