This is the second installment of a three-part series of autobiographical films about the director's life. The first, which won various awards for its maker, was entitled Zamri Oumi Voskresni and was later retitled Zari, Umri, Vokresni ("Freeze-Die-Come to Life"). At the end of that film, set at the conclusion of World War II, the young Valerka was striving hard to overcome the inertia of just getting by, along with his sometime friend Galiya. In this one, he is adjusting to Galiya's death and is back in school and is living with his mother, a prostitute. After a girl at the school is found to have been gang-raped, the headmaster chooses Valerka to be one of the scapegoats, though he had nothing to do with the deed. The punishment seems mild enough, he was simply expelled from school. However, after quarrelling with his mother about the incident, he takes to the road, and discovers a society so bleak, degraded and hopeless that it is a wonder he remained alive.

An Independent Life

Fedot the Shooter is sent by the Czar to find some special food for the foreign ambassador's visit. During the hunt Fedot meets his love Marusya - the magical bird-woman. Evil Czar and his no-less-evil sidekick General with the help of the local witch Yaga try to eliminate Fedot by giving him more and more complex quests and to take Marusya to Tsar's palace. Marusya helps Fedot to solve the quests successfully.

The Tale of Fedot, the Shooter

Vlad, a Russian businessman, who is going to participate in the elections for deputies, has got some problems with the articulation and he hires a speech therapist, Dasha - the poor girl of 25 years old who has moved to Moscow from a small town and now is searching for women's happiness in the capital of Russia. Dasha falls in love with Vlad almost at first sight finding him to be so polite, generous and educated and now she is making plans to win his heart, but the things are changed when Dasha finds out that Vlad is married for 15 years to a beautiful woman.