December, 31st. Impossible Moscow traffic, an endless rush leading to nothing, people trying to help but not making things any better. Small talk… about small things that fill one’s life — and make it pass us by too quickly. About Dad, who’s only got a few weeks left to live — and there’s nothing you can do to help... About plans for life of a 15-year-old girl — should she become a cancer specialist or a food designer?
프롤레타리안 엘레나(Elena)와 상류 계층의 블라디미르(Vladimir). 둘은 블라디미르가 병원에 입원했을 때 간호사와 환자로 만났다. 늦은 나이에 둘은 부부가 되었다. 엘레나에게는 실업자 아들과 며느리, 손자가 있고, 블라디미르에겐 집 밖을 나도는 천방지축 딸이 있다. 서로의 자식을 바라보는 시각이 곱지 않은 둘. 늘 엄마인 엘레나에게 돈을 요구하는 실업자 아들이 못마땅한 블라디미르는 그녀의 손자가 대학교에 갈 수 있도록 금전적 지원을 해달라는 부탁을 묵살해 버린다.
Vera has reached the top of her profession and owns her own company. Young, determined and successful, she is, however, lonely and unhappy. One night when Vera is driving home, she hits a young man on the road. She takes him to hospital but feels so responsible for the accident that she visits him every day bringing him food and gifts. They soon fall in love and on leaving the hospital, Anton moves into Vera’s flat. Meanwhile, Vera’s company is suddenly and inexplicably on the verge of bankruptcy, and when Vera witnesses Anton meeting with the manager of a rival company and giving him a package, she assumes he has betrayed her and throws him out. Imagine her astonishment, when she discovers that the informant is actually the wife of her company’s president, who has been leaking information to her lover, who works for a competitor.
Corrupt cops, street gangs, "Bratki" in "Bummers" (BMWs) steal and "Merins" (Mercedeses), angry truck drivers, beautiful women and death are what four friends in a black Bummer who go on a mission from one region of Russia to another are about to face in the wasteland of small-town Russia. A critique of the policies of Boris Yeltsin, it depicted the economic crisis that followed Russia's transition towards a free market economy, and with it, a lost generation, with no job security, who are pushed into a world of crime and rebellion. Despite a modest budget of US$700,000, and a limited cinematic release, it became a national hit in Russia as well its soundtrack, popularized by 'Seryoga's' (Серёга) music video "Чёрный Бумер" ("Black Bummer"). Both the film and its soundtrack have won awards, including the prestigious Golden Aries from the Russian Guild of Film critics.
