A famous massage therapist becomes the prime suspect in the disappearance of several of his clients. All the missing women are young girls looking to get away from of the provincial town to live their life in the capital, become professional models, or simply become high maintenance trophy wives.
The sinister ghost of the Queen of Spades is out for blood, her victims the students of an old boarding school shrouded in gloomy rumors. Exploring the school’s abandoned wing, the teenagers discover a mirror covered in mysterious drawings. Facing it, they playfully recite an incantation which renders their innermost desires a reality - at the expense of nothing less than their souls.
The czar of Russia has died and a power vacuum has developed. This period in the late 16th and early 17th century has been called "The Time of Troubles." There are many impostors who claim to the right to rule, but there's only one heir, the Czarina Kseniya Godunova. She has married a Polish military leader who wants to claim the Russian throne in her name so he can rule all of Russia. As the Poles move in on Moscow in an attempt to install the czarina on the throne, Andrei, a serf with a life-long infatuation of the czarina attempts to save her from her brutal Polish husband.
Todorovsky's film examines life in a provincial Russian town (that is too small to even appear on the map) just outside of Stalingrad during the famous WWII Battle. This is NOT a traditional war film, and the epic events of the battle take place almost entirely off screen. Instead, Todorovsky outlines a crude love triangle between three young people caught up in the harsh Russian winter. The stark winter settings, and the characters' struggle for survival, are what make this film one worth watching.
