Vladek
Russian Empire, 1919. By a twist of fate, young idealist Osip Zadunaisky meets an infamous con artist and self-proclaimed Turkish subject Ibrahim Bender. A man of pure thought and aristocratic upbringing, Osip would never have associated with a cunning and unscrupulous swindler, but Bender comes up with an offer Osip cannot refuse. A precious royal relic, a diamond-encrusted golden scepter is hidden somewhere in town; Bender needs a partner on his mission to find it, and offers Osip a share of the profit from selling the treasure. And so begins their joint venture, wrought with comical and dangerous twists and turns, where they have to outsmart and outmaneuver officers of the White Guard as well as the local mafia, who also have their eyes on the scepter. As their quest unfolds, Osip is compelled to learn Bender’s tricks of the trade: charming flattery, delicate deception, soft intimidation... as well as brute force.
Young Rudolf Nureyev
1961년, 키로프 발레단 단원 루돌프 누레예프는 처음으로 소련을 떠난다. 파리의 생활로 기쁜 누레예프는 파리의 문화, 예술, 음악을 열망하지만, 그의 일거수일투족을 주시하는 KGB는 그의 행동에 대한 의심을 키운다. 결국 그들에게 충격적인 요구를 들은 누레예프는 그의 인생을 영원히 바꿀 수 있는 가슴 아픈 결정을 내리게 된다.
