Fourteen-year-old Rustam lives with his mother in a village; his father was killed by the Russian mafia. After his father's death, Rustam tries to provide for himself and his mother without resorting to illegal money-making schemes. But his dream is to join a music band. The title of the film refers to an Azerbaijani fairy tale about saving a princess from a house with 40 doors; no one has succeeded in opening the last door, and thus its secret remains hidden. The villagers have named their village the 40th door as well.

The 40th Door

The story is set during an upsurge in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and revolves around an old, sick ex-forestry worker and his wife Nabat, whose son has died in battle.