Sergey Galkin
The student, Rifle, has managed to seduce his professor's wife, Bomber, an average working guy, has bought a factory and Bullet, the casino lover, is hiding from creditors. They all share a common path and conscription. In the army they teach you that everything must be smart and in order - cockades, straps and all, otherwise you're not fit to call yourself a person, you're a maggot. For a real man, there's no better place than the army.
In an abandoned apartment there are former spouses. Barricaded, the husband, thus, trying to escape from the criminals who hunt for compromising photos. But the ex-wife is there not by chance — she is the mistress of one of the kidnappers. But with an unusual date, the former feelings take over, the lovers decide to deceive the bandits and go on the run.
Ivan is old Russia: thick, dour, hard-working, often brutish; he misses Communism. He drives a taxi and one night meets Alexi, a new Russian, a musician, an alcoholic, irresponsible. Alexi stiffs Ivan for the fare, so Ivan tracks him down and a love-hate relationship ensues. When Alexi lets the bath water run over in Ivan's flat and Ivan must pay 500 rubles for repairs, he tries to force Alexi into day labor to repay him. It's hopeless. Then, suddenly, Alexi is discovered, goes on a jazz tour of America, becomes a celebrity, and returns in triumph. Ivan longs to renew the friendship, and it looks as if he may get what he wants.
