MOSFILM
Second Artists' Association
VERA ALENTOVA
ALEXEI BATALOV
IRINA MURAVYOVA
RAISSA RYAZANOVA
in
MOSCOW DOESN'T BELIEVE
IN TEARS
Screenplay by
Valentin CHERNYKH
Directed by
Vladimir MENSHOV
Director of Photography
Igor SLABNEVICH
Production Designer
Said MENYALSHCHIKOV
Music by Sergey NIKITIN
Lyrics by D. SUKHAREV
Yu. VIZBOR, Yu. LEVITANSKY
Sound by M. BRONSHTEIN
Conductor E. KHACHATURIAN
Moscow. 1958
Workers' Dormitory
- You failed?
- I missed by two points.
- Have you checked the list?
- I have. I'm not on it.
Don't give up. You'll work and
study at night,
and next year you'll make it
for sure...
Look who is here!
Don't look so depressed, Katerina.
I'm not depressed.
- Just two points!
- I'll make it no matter what.
No one said you wouldn't.
After all, 35 is the age limit.
You got plenty of time, believe me.
Couldn't you at least clean up
your face?
Kolia'll be here any minute.
He's taking me to watch a concert.
To watch a concert! After two years
in Moscow you can't talk properly.
- Don't come in!
- Come in, please!
- Hi!
- Good evening.
- You're not well?
- You made me blush all over.
I'm sorry.
- Want to have a look?
- No, thanks.
Kolia! I'll be ready in a second!
Why d'you have to frighten him?
You know, he's so shy.
Yeah, you wouldn't call him
an intellectual.
You could have found a dunce
like him at home in your village.
What were you so scared of?
It was a strawberry beauty mask.
Don't forget,
the doors are locked after twelve.
We'll be back in time.
We're going to watch a concert.
To watch a concert!
And you call yourself a Muscovite!
Women's dormitory.
Which Ludmilla? There're
Ludmillas by the dozens here.
Oh, that Ludmilla...
Just a minute. She's taking a bath
right now.
Sviridova, telephone for you!
She'll be right with you. She's
in the middle of drying off.
I said you were taking a bath.
Vadik? Of course, I remember.
What dormitory? Oh, that's our
granny. She's a great joker.
Some cousins came to visit
and now she's complaining
that our place is like a dormitory.
Everyone wants to come to Moscow,
but we can't live like sardines.
Today? No, I can't.
It's daddy's birthday.
Tomorrow? I'd better call you back.
I'll be in class all day.
- Dormitory!
- What else should I say?
- Why don't you just say "hello"?
- Hello? How was I supposed to know?
Fate flies like a rocket
in one huge parabola,
Sometimes along a rainbow,
but mostly in the pitch-dark cupola.
There lived a red-headed artist,
well-known as Gauguin.
A Bohemian, though
he started as a two-bit salesman.
To end up in the Louvre,
originating in Montmartre,
He made a detour
via Java and Sumatra.
He rocketed,
forgetting the madness of money...
What's he trying to say?
After five years of slaving,
buried in textbooks,
you're supposed to go in a factory?
What kind of life is that?
What kind of life do you want?
Stop necking on the street.
You're in a public place.
This chemistry of yours is so
boring. Nothing but formulas.
You don't understand.
Chemistry's the future of mankind.
You should be thinking more
about your present.
- Hey, girls, what about...
- Get lost, will you.
Why did you do that?
They look nice to me.
That's right, just nice.
In Moscow on a quota, just like us.
To love no less than a queen,
to lose no less than a million.
French Film Festival
Ever seen a mink like that?
I love her! It's Koniukhova!
That's what I call life!
Look! Youmatov!
Why are you out here?
Nina was supposed to bring me
an invitation...
Wait. I'll try to get you in.
- Are you an actor too?
- Yeah, just a beginner though.
- A bit late to be getting started.
- What's your name?
You probably never heard of me.
- Tell me anyway.
- Smoktunovsky.
Oh! Kharitonov!
- You fixed it all by yourself?
- Can't wait all day for the adjusters.
Their work load's too big,
you know.
Pretty good. pretty good.
Tossia, mother wants you
to come to our country place
on Sunday.
Why don't you say something?
- I'm not sure if I should.
- Why not?
Can't you see she's scared?
- Scared of what?
- Just scared.
In that case, why don't you ask
your roommates to come with you?
The fresh air will do them some
good.
Sviridova, when are you going
to pay your union dues?
Do you know how much you
owe us?
Look, why don't you leave her
alone?
Stop playing the tough guy.
Sviridova, stop wrecking my
nervous system.
Do I have to get down on my knees?
Oh, I'm really beat today.
- Liuda, are you coming?
- In a second.
- Ludmilla, aren't you ready yet?
- Ready.
Isn't she just beautiful?
- Ludmilla, where are you going?
- I'm in a hurry.
Where's she off to?
She never goes with us.
- What are you reading?
- A book.
- Is it interesting?
- Very.
What's the title of it?
"The Three Comrades". Never
heard of it.
Really? Everyone in Moscow's
reading it.
- You're not a Muscovite, huh?
- I am, almost.
Hello! Women's dormitory.
For whom? Ludmilla?
Who? Rudolph?
From the television, of course,
I remember.
Oh, that's just grandma kidding.
We've got houseguests from Riga,
so she's calling our apartment
a dormitory.
No, we're spending the weekend
in the country.
- What road we're taking?
- The first we find.
I wouldn't know that.
Our chauffeur takes us there.
I really have to run now,
my dad is waiting.
You're such a liar!
Stop teaching me how to live
my life.
You know, you're quite a catch.
A car, a place in the country...
If I had gotten to you first...
You're not my type.
As for the place in the country,
it's not much more than a cabin.
Oh yeah? That doesn't suit us.
Turn around!
Stop frightening her.
Can't you see how worried she is?
There's nothing to be scared of.
You don't have to marry him at all.
Why talk about marriage?
You're just guests for the weekend.
Come on.
My parents.
Ludmilla.
And Katerina. This is Tossia.
How are you?
In '33 she came
to our factory.
And she had only one suitcase,
that was all.
Mother, please, don't butt in.
I'm barely making
We'll help you get by.
In two months
I'll be at the sixth level.
Out of the way!
This is the black currant bush
I planted last year.
These are strawberries,
over there, gooseberries.
Here we'll have an apple tree.
Why don't you grow cabbages
over there, to have it all year round?
You're right, we'll do it.
- This is great...
- What's so great?
I take one look at all this
and it depresses me.
I'd kill myself rather
than live here.
Everything's decided in advance.
You save up to buy a TV set,
after that it's a washing machine,
then a refrigerator.
You've got a twenty-year plan
like the government.
- What's so bad about it?
- What's good living like that?
Don't you understand that
we live in Moscow?
And Moscow's one big lottery,
you can hit the jackpot.
Moscow is full of diplomats,
artists, actors and poets.
Practically they're all men.
And we're women.
What do they need us for?
They have their own women.
But we're no worse than the others.
Where can we find those artists?
That's the point.
We have to find them.
Leave it to me.
Galia, get up! You told me
to wake you up at nine.
Girls, strip your beds today!
- What happened to the hot water?
- They turned it off.
Still sleeping? You're going
to sleep your life away.
It's Sunday. Why are you
bothering me so early?
- Where's Antonina?
- Went to the country with Kolia.
She's got bogged down in the
bourgeois mire. Where're you going?
I'm going to visit some relatives.
They sent me a card.
What relatives?
- Uncle Lyosha.
- Who's that?
He's a professor.
He's my mother's cousin.
I stayed at their place for a week
when I first came to Moscow.
Oh yeah, I remember now.
- Where are you going after that?
- To the Tretiakov Gallery.
After all I taught you about how
to get a man and you go there.
The only kind of men you're
going to find there are tourists.
I go to see the paintings,
not the men.
Well, I'm going to visit the Lenin
Library's biology department today.
Imagine the clientele it's got.
The kind of men there.
Doctors, academicians, philosophers.
Are you going to spend your
morning watching them read?
No, I'll hang around the smoking
section.
Hello, Maria.
I have a surprise for you.
I managed to dig up two tickets
to the Van Cliburn concert.
Tonight at the Sports Palace.
Try to get out early today.
I'll meet you at the subway station.
Thanks.
All those guys are not serious
people.
Imagine, to a distinguished man,
with a degree in something or other,
I babble something half
intelligent
and I can have him eating out
of my hand.
- Want to come with me tomorrow?
- I can't, I'm moving out.
Uncle Lyosha is going South.
He asked me to look after their place.
- I couldn't say no.
- You'd be crazy to say no!
- Where does he live?
- Revolution Square.
In one of those skyscrapers?
I'm moving in with you.
Good morning. The Tikhomirovs.
No, wait! Hold it!
Now, here's where I keep the beans.
The sugar's there, too.
Don't worry about a thing,
Aunt Rita.
Well then, make yourself at home.
Tchapochka, my baby, you're
going to miss me, aren't you?
Only half an hour left and the car
isn't here yet. I'm so nervous.
Don't get so upset. The car is
waiting downstairs.
It's all Bogomolov's fault,
with his damned theory.
I had to get up on the podium
and argue with him for hours on end.
Katia, how are you?
Any news from your mother?
Everything is all right.
Pleased to meet you. Tikhomirov.
Sit down. It brings good luck.
I was able to arrange
for the medicine.
Write to your mother that I'll
send it to her as soon as I'm back.
- What are you crying about?
- Tchapochka's so sad.
- Come on, girls, hurry up!
- We're coming.
Water the flowers twice a week,
put the mail on the desk.
Tchapochka's got to be walked
at 5 in the morning and after supper.
You forgot to give me Tchapochka!
May Ludmilla stay with me?
- Is she neat?
- Very neat!
Alright then, she can stay.
May I speak to Ghena? Is that you?
I didn't recognize your voice.
Look, they changed my telephone
number. Write it down.
Say hello to Tchapa, guys.
You wrote down my address?
All right, Sergey, ciao!
Here, hold him.
We're having guests tomorrow
evening.
- Here?
- No, in our dormitory.
I already got in touch with
a scientist,
an athlete, a television man,
a poet and a couple of engineers.
- They accepted?
- They'll be here before you know.
One thing you have to agree to.
We're the daughters of
Professor Tikhomirov.
I'm a medical student
specializing in psychiatry,
and you're studying chemistry
and industrial technology.
Men prefer women
in the intellectual professions.
For example, a doctor. Her hands
are clean, she wears a white blouse.
Or a music teacher. It's very
romantic, and earns a good living.
Of course, interior decorating
is a chic profession.
The only trouble is that
it's hard to fake.
Can you fake a psychiatrist?
I wasn't a nurse's aid in a loony
bin just for nothing.
The stories I can tell them
will make them crazy.
- The point is to impress them.
- They're bound to find out about us.
I know what to do. I'll have a fight
with Dad and move in with my hubby.
Then I'll go to work every day,
and he'll think I'm still a student.
That goes on for a year, then I'll
get pregnant and become a housewife.
And even if he does find out,
it'll be too late.
He will have gotten used to me,
and he'll adore his kid.
He'll probably even beg me
to forgive him.
Why would he do that?
Well, I'll find a reason when I
have to. So you'll do it?
We'd never get away with it.
Oh, Katia, do it for me, please.
No, I don't like it.
Then I'll tell them
that you're my maid.
What a bore you are.
Take a chance for once in your life.
I don't even look like a professor's
daughter.
All we have to do for it to work
is avoid making two mistakes.
One is lousy grammar, and
the other is asking dumb questions.
What if they ask me a question
and I give a dumb answer?
Do it, but like you mean it.
That's called "point of view".
- Take me, I'm pretty vulgar, right?
- You said it, I didn't.
Well, guys call it eccentric.
So will you do it?
No! I just don't believe you can
act like something you're not.
Pleased to meet you.
- Katia.
- Anton.
And what's your last name?
You can call me just Anton.
The last name is for my office.
Please, come right in.
Put these in some water.
Gentlemen, I think you can make
your own introductions.
Kruglov,
industrial executive.
Seryozha.
Perov. I'm a scientist.
Edward Ozeryansky,
research engineer.
Kruglov, industrial executive.
The one with the badge
is a scientist.
- What science?
- Just science.
- Oh, you shouldn't have...
- That's my contribution.
- It wasn't necessary.
- Go ahead, let's have a look.
Oh, pardon me!
Could you take all this
in the other room?
I'm sorry, I was delayed
at the studio.
I understand.
Meet my little sister.
It's a pleasure.
- Katia.
- Rudolph.
I don't agree. Poetry is definitely
on the rise.
There are interesting young poets.
Yevtushenko, for example.
Who?
You don't know him?
He shows a lot of promise.
Although in my opinion,
Robert is more daring.
Rozhdestvensky. You've heard
of him, haven't you?
He's fabulously talented.
A young rebel.
There're too many rebels now.
They criticize the older generation.
They want to know why we kept
silent for so long.
I wonder what they would have
done in our place.
We would have spoken up.
Seryozha, you haven't touched
your wine.
- I'm not allowed.
- Poor health?
No. The coach won't allow me to.
Cause I'm in training.
You are Gourin, aren't you?
Yes, Gourin.
I thought you looked familiar.
I used to broadcast the games
you played.
We should be honored to be
at the same table as Gourin.
Don't be so modest. I read what
the Swedish press wrote about you.
- You play for Moscow now?
- That's right.
I think we should all drink a toast
to the great hockey player Gourin.
Just one glass toasting yourself.
No. Thank you for your kind words,
but really I'm in training,
and I don't like the stuff anyway.
- Have you been long at the TV?
- Two years now.
- It must be very interesting!
- Yes, very.
Someday television
will change our lives.
We'll never go to the movies,
and theatre and literature will die.
We'll only be interested in
television.
Don't you think you're getting
carried away?
Theatre, I agree, isn't going to last
long, but really, movies, books...
Just wait twenty years and you'll
see.
Well, in twenty years everything
will be completely changed.
It isn't all that much, twenty years.
In twenty years I'll be old.
Believe me, at forty you'll think
that your life just begins.
At forty? You're joking!
If God really created us all,
he should be generous
and give us at least a thimbleful
of hope.
Where did you graduate from?
We don't have any special school
for television yet.
Seryozha, you're like a bear.
Well, what do you think of Sweden?
We just looked out a bus window.
We're still at the beginning of TV,
but it already represents the future.
- Have you been to a studio?
- No, I've never been there.
- Want to visit?
- Oh yes, can I?
I can arrange it.
Washington says we're a bust,
Treats us just like old dust.
But in space we're the first.
With green envy they can burst.
An old house on the block
Was dynamited at one o'clock.
And instead the new one fell,
The old one is holding well.
An old man in a restaurant
Ate a very, very lot.
Now his rent is paid well for,
It's a cemetery plot.
Oh look! It's Katerina!
That's her all right!
She really looks pretty, doesn't she?
It's funny, but for sisters you're
not much alike.
- You mean I'm not pretty?
- It's not that...
You're so different.
A loving son to his dear dad
Gave a lottery ticket.
Father won a car, no buts,
And the son is going nuts.
Don't do that again,
and I mean it, Seryozha.
Why not?
You're famous, and girls
just throw themselves at you.
- I'm not that kind of girl.
- Who cares if I'm famous.
My coach also says that I'm not
like everybody else.
And I've only had one girlfriend
in my entire life.
So you've got one...
It was when I was still in school.
Don't do that.
It might make no difference to you,
but I'm the kind who takes it
seriously.
So am I.
Vitya, will you stop pounding,
please.
That's Rudy when he was one year
old. And that's his father.
Our place is small, isn't it?
- I think your apartment's lovely.
- You're just being nice.
Rudy told me about your apartment.
It seems it's gorgeous.
Yes, it's not bad.
Vitya, stop pounding the piano!
And here we all are on vacation.
Your family must go to the Crimea,
right?
The Crimea's cold this year,
isn't it?
Cold? Somewhat, yes...
Not really cold I mean.
- But it isn't summer either.
- Right.
Mother, you haven't stopped talking
to Katia. Please, dinner is ready.
- Vitya, sit down.
- Vitya, sit there, will you?
Would you like some salad?
And cold tongue with a cream sauce.
- You want some champagne, mom?
- Yes, please.
Vitya, we bought some soda for you.
Well then, as they say, here's
to friendship!
And who knows where friendship
will lead you.
Vitya, don't eat like a pig.
Use the knife you're supposed to.
I forgot, which one?
Oh, we went through that this
morning. What will our guest think?
- Let me offer you some sturgeon.
- No!
I'm allergic to sturgeon.
- It gives me cramps.
- Oh! You don't say!
And besides, I already ate a big
meal today. I really can't eat.
Good you're here. You can give me
a hand.
We've just got a telegram. Our hosts
will be here the day after tomorrow.
That's what I call being polite.
They warn you in advance.
- What are we going to do?
- I've got everything worked out.
Seryozha, good that you've called.
Yes, sure I'll see you tonight.
It's something else.
They're going to cut off my phone.
They said it's because of
the government's needs.
From now on I'll be calling you.
See you tonight then.
That's it, I'm fed up with this
endless lying.
When Rudy comes here tomorrow,
I'm going to tell him.
Don't even think of it!
If you do, Seryozha will find out.
Well, I don't care about that!
No, Katia, you'll ruin everything.
This champagne is so heady.
The aristocrats used to drink it.
- To you.
- And to you.
- Shall we dance?
- All right.
The light hurts my eyes.
No, don't, Rudy! Please don't...
- Goodbye.
- So you're moving out, Katia?
- And who's going to walk Tchapa?
- Aunt Rita.
We'll be back here someday.
Rudy said that in the West
they celebrate special events
in restaurants.
They have all gone crazy over there.
What kind of food can you get
in a restaurant?
You got to have a television.
Absolutely. When the furniture's
paid up we're going to buy a TV set.
Tonia, you'd better start with
the television set.
Because the television is
the future of mankind.
I just love your dill pickles.
I can't stop eating them.
That's Misha who makes them.
I never knew that you liked
dill pickles.
I do now.
Are you trying to tell us something?
Tell me how it happened.
- I don't know what you mean.
- I mean are you pregnant?
- Yes.
- When did it happen?
- While we were living there.
- That was three months ago!
- Does he know?
- No.
- Why didn't you tell him?
- Because he'd learn the other lies.
I've gotten myself into trouble,
that's all.
First you have to make him marry
you, then you tell him everything.
If he loves you, he'll forgive you.
No, a lie is no way to start
a family.
I hate to do it.
Kiss the bride!
Leave me alone.
And may you have a happy and long
life and many children! A kiss!
We have to do something, girls.
Mikhalych has been asking for you.
He says it's important.
This girl has a promising future.
She's as good as any engineer.
The kerchief must go.
Would you mind walking a little?
The lady's a director.
You're going to be on television.
But I can't. There's too much work
to do on the fourth shift.
I think she'll do very nicely.
Would you mind saying a few
words?
I don't know what to say.
I've written down the answers
to the questions that Liudochka
here will be asking.
- Please learn your lines.
- Get ready.
Are you sick?
Yes, I'm sick.
I can't go through with this.
Stop this nonsense.
The whole country will be watching,
people will be writing to you.
You take this tool and start
working.
Rudy, are you ready to begin?
Let's get going!
Katia Tikhomirova
is the only girl at this factory
who is working as a mechanic.
Have a look at the complex machine
that Katia has started to work on.
Katia can solve any problem here,
isn't that right?
Well, I think I can.
You were hired as an operator,
weren't you?
But you wanted to do more
creative work, right?
Is that why you decided to be
a mechanic?
Not really.
It just happened.
I was asked to become a mechanic
by Mikhalych...
Excuse me, I mean Comrade Lednev.
He's our foreman and a very good
man.
He asked me, and I agreed.
It's rare that anyone accepts though,
the pay is so bad.
- What are you talking about?
- The quotas should be reviewed.
We simply have to reevaluate
qualified labor throughout the plant.
You probably want to continue
your education
and return to this factory
as an engineer?
I was hoping to enter a college
last year, but I failed the exams.
I hope to do better this year.
But I'll come back to work here
only if I fail again.
I want to be a chemistry major.
Good luck to you, Katia.
And thank you very much.
Is that all? Here.
Hi! Interesting coincidence,
finding you in a place like this.
Yes, very interesting.
I see you're a model worker.
Are you disappointed?
No, not at all.
Actually, I'm delighted.
Well, I've got to go.
You shouldn't stay in bed all the
time. Why don't you go for a walk?
You know, I told Seryozha
the whole truth today.
- And what did he say?
- He said he was relieved.
He was afraid that a professor
wouldn't let his daughter marry him.
In fact, we got a marriage license
today.
Congratulations.
Katia, forgive me. I was the one
who asked you to lie.
Now I'm engaged, but you...
What happened was my own
responsibility.
No, there's someone else
who is to blame for this.
That's just great!
What do you expect me to do?
I went to the hospital,
but the doctors say it's too late.
Maybe your mother would know
someone who could...
No, I won't let you get my mother
involved in this.
Hey, what are you doing?
Can't you just play the game?
- What am I going to do?
- You should've been more careful.
You too.
Look, don't try to make me
the villain.
I feel like we're personages
from some melodrama.
He's a jerk, she's a saint.
Only in our case, you're
the one who lied to me!
Well, no use crying over spilt milk.
We can still be friends though.
All right. I think you're right.
It's my fault, I deserved it.
I'm only asking you
to help me find a doctor.
How am I supposed to find one?
This is a thing for women.
What do I know about it?
Why don't you ask at the factory?
Go to the clinic there.
They're supposed to take care
of the health of their workers.
Anyway, we have the finest
medical care in the world.
I'm going to be late at the studio.
Come on, stop crying.
Everything will work out.
I'll keep in touch, all right?
I'll be going now.
Goodbye.
May I come in?
So this is where Professor
Tikhomirov's daughter lives?
- How are you?
- I'm fine, thank you.
- May I sit down?
- Please do.
I had a long serious conversation
with Rudy.
He never really loved you.
He was only infatuated.
He was very disappointed
by your schemes
with professorial apartments.
I came to ask you
to stop calling us.
We've had enough of your
blackmail.
I never called you.
You must have asked one of your
friends to phone for you.
I never asked my friends to, either.
All right, I've been calling you up!
And I'm also going to write
to your son's boss.
He should me made to do his duty!
Oh, you must be the specialist
in psychiatry
who earns her living working
in a bakery?
- Yes, I do. So what?
- Then stay in your bakery.
And in your dormitory.
I had lived in a communal
apartment, too.
- Times have changed.
- Some things never change.
There are already four of us
in two rooms,
and now you want to move in,
you and your child.
I never wanted that!
I will never ask you for anything,
I promise!
That's the only thing I can do
for you. Here...
Thanks. I can earn my living.
As you wish.
Why should you raise your child
on your own?
There won't be any child.
Don't just stand there, young father.
Come and kiss your daughter.
What are you waiting for? Go on!
- Congratulations.
- Thank you.
You should take the baby
to the country this summer.
Goodbye.
You should've asked someone else
to pretend to be the father.
Soon Tonia's going in here.
They'll think I have a harem.
Don't worry about that for now.
Let's celebrate the birth of this one!
Oh, she's so lovely!
Look at the little darling!
She looks just like you.
Especially her eyes and nose.
What are you going to name her?
Alexandra, after my father.
Come to the table, everybody!
The food's ready.
Katia, put your girl to sleep
and let's eat.
She's fast asleep already. Come on.
Did you see the TV set?
- What's that?
- My parents sent it over.
You'll be in this room,
you and your baby.
We're not going to wait
for Seryozha.
What do you mean, let's not wait
for Seryozha?
You got it after all!
The store manager went to the
warehouse himself. He's a hockey fan.
In six months you can pass it over
to Tonia.
- And then it'll be Ludmilla's turn.
- No, we're in no rush.
I haven't seen the baby yet.
Oh, but she looks like you!
The spitting image of you!
It's amazing the way she looks
like her mother!
- No, no, I'm not allowed to.
- You have to drink to the baby.
But I'm in training. And you know
that I've never liked the stuff.
Just this once. It's for the baby.
All right, I give up.
I'm tired of fighting you.
To Alexandra...
What's her patronymic?
Alexandrovna.
To the newest Muscovite in town!
To Alexandra Tikhomirova!
Alexandra! Time to get up!
- When will you be back?
- I'm working late today.
- May I invite my girlfriends over?
- And your boyfriends too.
I know. The meat's in the freezer.
There's canned soup in the closet,
and applesauce for dessert.
- I'll wash the dishes.
- Good girl. Goodbye.
Smoking again before breakfast?
I told you not to do that.
Sit down and eat.
Take some bread. Don't rush.
Liuda, I promise you,
it's the last time.
I'll pay you back when I receive my
check. Please, another 5 rubles...
Do you want me to wipe your nose
too?
You don't believe me?
I can show you my bank book.
Where do you expect me to get money?
It doesn't grow on trees.
D'you think I like coming here?
It's because of my condition.
Your condition is called hangover.
It's no problem for me
to give up drinking!
I've been invited to be a coach
next year.
I'm going to be late, get out!
You're a bitch! What about everything
I bought you, have you forgotten?
You drank up everything you bought!
It was my money,
I had the right to drink!
I don't want to see you again!
We were divorced seven years ago!
Couldn't you just lend me
two or three rubles?
I really need it!
There! Take whatever I have. I'm
leaving me just 10 kopecks for bus.
You're an angel, Liuda.
I swear, I'll pay you back!
There's still a stain, look!
Some stains don't come out.
That'll teach you to be neater.
- There you are.
- Thank you.
You have a ticket?
Your package...
- Ticket please?
- It's a suit.
How interesting.
You've got it? Is it clean?
I've just chosen the most stunning
pair of shoes.
I want you to see them.
Do us a favor
and wrap it up once more.
I'm sorry, but there's a paper
shortage in the country.
Why is it that generals always have
the same kind of wife?
I would have made a perfect
general's wife!
For that you would have
to marry a lieutenant first
and for years move with him
from one small town to another.
In life, there's such a thing
as luck, you know.
That's why I buy a lottery ticket
every week.
You win yet?
Sure I did. I won a ruble twice.
It's the categorical imperative.
It was Kant who thought of it.
Mankind should work
for the maximum...
- That's Gourin.
- Where?
There must be a certificate
that goes with it.
How you doing? Want a drink?
- Want some vodka instead?
- Yeah, just a little.
Excuse me, are you Gourin?
Everything is okay.
To solve these problems
is yourjob.
You're being paid for it.
I don't want to hear
that something can't be done.
I'm interested in what you're doing
so that it will be done!
You were right to get tough with him.
Does the chief engineer have any
questions? The director?
What were the reasons
for missing last month's
established quotas?
We were short on tank trucks.
- Why did that happen?
- Because none were empty.
- What measures have been taken?
- We even called the minister.
Sergey Stepanovich, you will
personally look into this.
We have to determine a schedule
reducing future loading tie-ups.
The meeting is adjourned.
Could you tell everybody that this
afternoon meeting is being cancelled.
I'll have to be at the City Hall.
At last the municipality is taking
an interest in what we're doing.
We're holding on on sheer enthusiasm.
It's time the government thought
about solving this problem.
Do you know how many people
are suffering from loneliness?
Look at the numbers and you can see
how alarming it is!
In Moscow alone,
it's alarming!
Loneliness is the danger
facing us.
The birthrate goes down,
alcoholism's up!
From an economic point of view,
a single worker is inefficient.
He can't concentrate,
he's obsessed by his loneliness.
- I think it's open to discussion.
- All right. Let's discuss it.
The club was founded
only three years ago.
Is it a success? Have many lost souls
found one another thanks to you?
Yes, indeed! For this period
we married twelve couples.
Though marriage is not
our priority.
Don't think of us as a marriage
broker. We're a friendship club.
Today, lonely souls don't know
how to meet one another.
People just watch television
and don't even know who lives next door.
Among those who got married,
two were living
in the very same apartment
building.
They wouldn't have met one another,
it was only because of our club.
And that's what you call
urbanization!
I came to enroll in the club.
I'm sorry, but our enrollment for
unmarried women is closed.
We'll start recruiting women
at the beginning of next year.
But you're still accepting men?
Yes, single men can join up.
Why, isn't it unfair?
We already have two single women
for every single man.
Couldn't you make an exception?
Listen, call me at the beginning
of next year.
I see. Goodbye. Don't call us,
we'll call you.
You can see what's going on.
You at the municipality do nothing
but talk
when you should be helping us.
How can we help?
We're short of funds,
we're short of men!
You know as well as I do
that in Moscow
there're five single women
for every forty-year-old bachelor.
But we can't abandon those
who need us!
How lucky I found you!
Someone put me in the old group,
where all the women are grandmothers.
Well, you're not exactly
a spring chicken, either.
I don't feel like hanging
around old women.
All right, I'll have you
transferred to the younger group,
from 35 to 50 years old.
Couldn't you make it younger
than that?
There's only the group from 25
to 30, and you've got arthritis.
You can't dance with them, so don't
come complaining to me again.
I give you my word, I won't.
All right, I'll put you
in the youngest group.
Only don't say you haven't been
warned.
And you, please, drop in Thursday.
You'll fill in our test forms,
and then we'll send you an invitation.
- Thank you. Good afternoon.
- See you Thursday.
How about that? Chief engineer
in a factory and he comes to us.
They suffer more than the others.
But you should see the ladies.
Gorgeous human beings!
Well-bred, intelligent
and pretty too!
You wonder what do men want.
It's a mystery.
Of course, that's not a problem
for you there, at the City Hall.
Why do you say that?
I'm single, too.
Come on.
Well, if even at the City Hall...
Look, I might be able
to help you.
There's a man I set aside.
He's a chief executive.
And only fifty-three.
Thank you very much.
I can cope myself.
Your rear suspension is squeaking.
And I thought
I was just imagining it.
You ought to get it fixed soon
before it gets worse.
All right, I will.
Where are we going?
We're going to my place.
No, I'm not going to your place!
Don't get nervous. My wife and
daughter are still on vacation.
No, we shouldn't do that!
I want you to see how I live.
Please, say yes!
There's nothing in the fridge, but
I brought some apples from the south.
We haven't seen one another for ages!
The last time I saw you,
it must of been the 20th of June.
The eighteenth.
I'm always afraid that I'll call
my wife by your name.
I guess it's because I think of you
every minute.
No, not here, I don't want to.
I missed you so much!
That must be my mother-in-law!
- I'll go and look in the eye-hole.
- No, don't move.
- Does she have a key?
- No.
Calm down then.
It's all my fault.
I called her from the airport.
Now she'll have something
to tell my wife.
You can say you were sleeping.
I think she's gone.
Apparently.
I think I'd better be going too.
You said you had the whole
evening free.
I have a lot of work to do
for the office.
I meant it when I said
how much I missed you.
You're upset because of what
happened.
You think I'm foolish.
Come on, it could've happened
to anyone.
- Will you give me a call tonight?
- Yes, of course.
No, wait.
Don't forget, call me tonight.
Is something wrong?
Yes, something's wrong.
Oh, flowers? Where did you get 'em?
A man gave them to me.
When are you gonna get rid
of that piece ofjunk?
If you take care of a car
it can last a hundred years.
You've led a perfectly honest
sort of life,
and what d'ya got to show for it,
just a couple of hairs on your head.
Baldness is in style nowadays.
- Is that in style too?
- That happens when you're nervous.
What a surprise!
It's great to see you!
How did you know we were here?
I didn't find any of you home,
so I figured you were in the country.
I came to say goodbye.
I've decided to go home.
I've hung around Moscow for too long.
I owe you money. I'll send it
when I get my first paycheck.
Are there a lot of people under you?
Nearly three thousand.
Organizing all that must be
very hard work.
It's hard getting the first three
workers organized, then it's easy.
- Is something wrong, mother?
- I'm all right, go on talking.
I'm always holding you up to the
children as an example.
You've achieved everything
you wanted to.
Only don't tell them that once
you've gotten everything you wanted
you feel like howling.
- You ought to get married.
- It's not a question of marriage.
It is. Though it's not easy
in your line of work.
Men are afraid of women
who earn more than they do.
Where are the men nowadays?
They're getting fat and lazy.
You go to the theatre or museum and
what do you see? Only women.
The men are watching television
or drinking with their friends.
Once they reach forty, they vegetate.
They don't even polish their shoes,
it's disgusting!
I hate men who wear dirty shoes.
It's crude.
You ought to be prosecuted for
exploiting a skilled worker.
It was your idea to put some away
for the winter, so don't complain.
Do you know that Ghena brought
a girl friend along?
I'd better go before his father
says something stupid.
- Gourin came over.
- He's been drinking again?
No, he's fine. He's like that every
time he comes out of the hospital.
That explains why he hasn't come
around begging for a while.
He was such a nice guy!
It's because he was so nice
that he became like that.
Everybody wanted to drink with him,
and he couldn't refuse
because he was too nice.
Now all his friends have disappeared
and left him all alone.
I'm sure he'll get better.
I thought so too at first,
I even took him to see doctors.
How I begged!
I've done my best.
Marina, why don't you have
some more?
Do you know how workers were hired
in the old days?
Shut up, I wasn't talking to you.
You're always interrupting me.
Marina has never heard this story.
They gave a worker all the food
he wanted.
If the man ate poorly,
he wasn't allowed to work there.
What have I done wrong?
I want some bread.
I met a client whose husband
hunts whales for a living.
They make a beauty cream on the side.
You use a little at bedtime, and in
the morning your wrinkles disappear.
What do they put in the cream?
I swear, your skin'll look like
marble.
All our players have gotten jobs.
I've been asked to coach
several times.
For years I didn't realize
how I was living.
I haven't been to a game
in over a year.
No, I've got to call it quits.
Right. You're still a young man.
A man can start over again
if he really wants to.
This is the pippin.
Over here we have strawberries.
And here... Have an apple.
I did this years ago.
You know, I've always envied you.
The love you share.
I was told how to meet a single man.
You go to a cemetery.
You're bound to meet an intellectual
who's a recent widower.
You let him look at you,
and the next thing you know...
A friend of mine actually
married an architect that way.
Liuda, you're unbelievable!
It takes a lot of work
to make a marriage.
I'm sure that someday I'm gonna
be lucky.
Mother, why didn't you ask me
to do that?
I get tired just sitting around.
She's getting old, isn't she?
Her husband's death was pretty
hard on her.
She was only five years older
than we today
when we first met.
As if it happened yesterday.
Hot tea here!
Get your hot tea here.
That's it. I can't carry it
forever.
Over here. Thank you, my son.
I know, I'm not proud of my shoes
either.
Well, I don't care about your shoes.
But they upset you, don't they?
I can tell it from your face.
- Is face reading your hobby?
- Sure.
I can tell that you're not married.
Because you don't see a wedding ring
on my finger?
Even if you were wearing three
wedding rings on each hand,
you still have that unmarried look
about you.
You mean single women have
a special look about them?
Their look is kind of searching.
The same look police usually have,
an executive has it,
and a single woman has it too.
- I'm in the police then.
- No.
- An executive?
- No...
You work in a factory, but as what?
Specialist, right?
Though I see you also in a position
of leadership.
Maybe the factory union leader.
Is that what you do?
Yeah, you're almost right.
I'm a specialist myself.
A tool and die maker.
I'm single in case you're interested.
- Then you're not so perfect.
- I've just had bad luck in marriage.
I see, you had a bitchy wife.
No, she was sweet. She even found
herself a second husband.
So that was your fault?
Actually I'm a very nice guy.
And how about...?
What? Oh, I love to have a drink!
But never on the job
and never on an empty stomach.
Not far from where I live there's
a pond and birch trees.
- You sit in the shade...
- With boisterous children around.
No, we go where no one bothers us.
And we always make sure
to leave the place clean.
I've got a friend who has an ulcer.
He can't eat anything.
But he likes to watch us eat.
It makes him feel good.
When you make a sandwich of rye
bread with slices of onion
and maybe some anchovies...
You're already making me feel
hungry.
You're invited then.
I don't go any place with men
I don't know.
- Never made an exception?
- Goodbye.
Could you carry my samovar?
All right, but let's hurry up.
- I think I'd better see you home.
- What for?
I happen to have five rubles,
so I can offer you a ride.
That will be enough only for one way.
I'm gonna walk home.
Walking never hurt anybody.
- What is your name?
- Goga.
But you can call me Gosha.
All right, Goga.
That's all I need.
You're getting home pretty late.
I've been waiting two hours for you.
- Why?
- Because I had to see you.
- Why?
- I need you.
All right. Come on up, I'd like you
to meet my daughter.
- You've got a daughter?
- Are you surprised?
Do you have a husband waiting too?
Is what you need an unmarried
woman?
You and your husband had a fight
and you use me to pay him back?
With an observant mind like yours
you ought to work as a weather man.
Come on in.
I want you to meet a friend of mine,
Georgy.
Alexandra. Pleased to meet you.
Put all this in the refrigerator,
will you.
All right. No husband.
- What do you think?
- It's all right.
- Take yourjacket off.
- And what about dinner?
Let me rest first. I'll start
making dinner in a few minutes.
No, just relax.
- Are you going to eat?
- And what if I am?
In that case you can start
peeling the onions.
Dinner is ready!
- How does your mother call you?
- Maroussia.
I think I'm gonna call you
Maroussia too.
And I'll call you Vassya.
I've got a lot of nicknames already.
There's Jora, Youra, Gosha, Goga,
Georgy...
Do you work in the same factory
that mother does?
No, we don't work together.
Though we're going to live together,
I hope.
You mean that you want to marry her?
Yes.
Have you known her for a long time?
Forty-four hours and
about twenty-two minutes.
But Mother has always been
of the opinion
that you have to know a man well
to marry him,
and that takes time.
Right, to marry a person
after only a two-day acquaintance
is a very thoughtless act.
It's best to wait about a week.
So you can let me know
next Wednesday.
There's a good way for us
to get to know one another.
I invite you and your mother
for a Sunday picnic in the country.
Well, goodbye, it's been a pleasure.
Don't show me out. I know the way.
- What does he do?
- Tool and die maker.
- Where did you find him?
- In the train.
I didn't know you were cruising
for men in trains.
I'm a little surprised.
Not half as surprised as I am,
though.
Why aren't you dressed yet?
We had a date. Did you forget?
- Forget what?
- Our picnic!
Mother, you gotta get up!
- What's going on?
- The picnic.
For goodness sake, it's Sunday.
Let me sleep.
You can sleep in the fresh air.
We're being late.
We can give you a hand with that.
No, no, women aren't allowed
to make shashlik.
Go and sit down.
- Relax.
- Thank you.
Here, chef, take this.
Go to sleep now.
Friends! It's a special toast that
I've the pleasure to propose today.
This is a special occasion -
the birthday
of our dear friend Gosha.
- What birthday?
- You didn't tell them?
It's no big deal.
Oh, he's a very humble kind of guy.
I don't think I have to remind you
of the outstanding virtues
of our extraordinary friend.
Yes, you do.
Is there somebody who doesn't know
how talented and clever you are?
I don't know anything.
In that case, I propose a toast
in honor of his hands.
At first glance they're
average human hands,
but all that is just an illusion.
Actually, they're golden hands.
We're in the presence, my friends,
of Master Tool and Die Maker!
In our Institute there are
scientists and Ph. D's
who could have retired
ten years ago
without anyone ever noticing
that they have gone.
But when Gosha was out last year
and hospitalized,
I beg your pardon, ladies,
for getting rather personal,
only they removed his appendix,
well, then half of the lab
stopped dead.
As for me, if I received a doctorate,
at least 70 percent of it comes
from the apparatus that Gosha
invented.
And I'm sure
that my opinion is shared
by the majority of my fellow workers
at our scientific institute.
To your hands, my dear friend!
- Happy birthday, Gosha!
- To your hands of gold!
Well, did you like my toast?
Have you got a Ph.D.?
Isn't it obvious?
- What is the world up to?
- It's winter again.
- Winter, you think?
- Yes, it's winter, I reckon.
Your cozy, drowsy homes
me beckon
To come and forever in there
remain.
- Then what's to happen?
- Then January comes.
- January, you believe?
- Yes, I believe so.
I have been reading that white book
since I began to grow,
This time-old primer
with pictures of snow-covered stumps.
- What'll be the outcome?
- April will dawn.
- April, you sure?
- Yes, I am sure.
I definitely heard,
and it wasn't some allure,
the sound of a reed-pipe
on the neighborhood lawn.
What's the conclusion?
That we go on living
And make summer dresses
from gauzy cotton.
You think there'll be chance
for us to put them on?
Just make them,
that's what I believe in!
We should be prepared,
for however strong may be the blizzards
Their bondage is bound
to come to an end...
I feel bad about your birthday.
We owe you a present.
You've got a lot of time
before December comes along.
My birthday is the 23rd of December.
- And what was today?
- It was an exhibition.
I was a total stranger to you,
wasn't I?
Not any more because my friends
told you everything.
What about all these scientists
and Ph.D.'s?
All the rest was real, the friends,
the scientists, the shashlik.
I'm what they said I'm.
Although they put it on a little
thick, exaggerated.
Well, we'll find out in a couple
of years.
That's good. I was afraid that
what they said would give you
an inferiority complex.
I felt something like that.
Though, I do think that in a family
the man should be superior.
When the woman has a larger salary
or a position of superiority,
the marriage can't work.
- Are you serious?
- Absolutely.
I've seen enough of this already.
How much are you making?
Don't worry, I earn much more
than your mother does.
We should be prepared, for
however strong may be the blizzards,
Their bondage is bound
to come to an end!
So allow me, Miss,
to offer my hand
For a dance at this
New Year Ball of the Wizards.
The moon is a sphere
with a candle inside,
The carnival figures
around us bend.
A waltz has begun,
so give me your hand
And go left-right,
left-right, left-right!
Andrei, how's this?
- Is it all right?
- It's fine.
Don't worry, our director
is always on time.
- How do you do?
- How do you do?
I'll be ready in two minutes.
We can start when you want to.
Excuse me, but haven't we met before?
Have I ever filmed you here?
No, I think you're wrong.
Have you ever spent
your vacations at Sochi?
Most people have spent a vacation
at Sochi sometime.
I forgot to introduce myself.
My name is Rodion Rachkov.
It's a name you hardly hear
in Russia these days.
Yes, when I was young,
foreign names were more common.
Edward, Robert, Rudolph...
The French delegation just called.
They'll be here in half an hour.
Thank you.
Katerina?
Have I changed all that much?
No. It's just I'm surprised...
So many years have passed...
I never thought you'd become
a director.
I've only been a director
for three months.
Shall we begin?
I'm really very busy.
All right, sure.
We're ready to go here.
Go ahead, please.
Good afternoon, ladies and
gentlemen!
The men in the audience are free
to do whatever they want to.
Our products are primarily
of interest to women.
When I think of what
I might've missed,
if I had decided to sleep over
at Tonia's that night.
Or if I had taken another train.
I was thinking the same thing.
How come you never did get
married?
I was waiting for you.
But there was a man in your life?
Once...
But now it seems like it happened
to someone else.
Are there any snapshots of you
as a kid?
Yeah, a couple.
You must've been funny looking.
- You must show them to me later.
- Okay.
- I warn you, I snore.
- So what?
I'll whisper in your ear "shsh"
and you'll be quiet.
There's another thing.
I can't stop tossing and turning.
I'll take you in my arms
to make you stop.
Good idea, let's try.
Oh, my God! I didn't see
what time it was!
Alexandra'll be home any minute!
So early?
Put the sheets in the closet!
The pillows, too.
- There're glasses in there.
- Put them in the bottom drawer.
Who was the idiot
who invented this contraption?
Why are you sitting in the dark?
Cause we're watching television.
Hello.
So what? Would you please
stop bothering me!
No! I have no desire to meet you.
She's not your daughter.
Born at the end of July, yes.
You've been counting.
May I come in?
All right. We can meet
on Gogol Boulevard at 17:45.
But not more than 15 minutes.
I'm really very busy.
- Hello.
- How are you?
You're alone, not with your mother?
My mother died eight years ago.
I'm sorry.
Now what do you want?
I want to see my daughter.
What for? You've been getting along
without her until now.
Until now I didn't know
she existed.
You didn't want to know you mean?
You were never so cruel before.
And guess who taught me that?
As for me, I feel as if
a new life has started
now that I know
I have a daughter.
A grown-up daughter to boot.
You don't have to look after her
staying up at night,
to walk her to school...
If I'm guilty of hurting you,
I've been punished enough, so
there's no need to do it.
Yes, I've led a useless life
all right.
I've always pretended
it was just a rehearsal,
that real life still lay
ahead.
I've been married twice.
My first wife ran out on me
and I left the second one.
And now here I am, alone
with no kids, with no wife,
not even anyone I can really
call a friend.
How many times I've imagined
what it would be like meeting you.
All the words I've so
carefully prepared.
Now you're here and I don't
know what to say.
For many years I didn't stop
loving you.
But then I became hateful
and bitter.
I wanted you to know
about my success,
to make you see how wrong you were.
But now I think
that it was all to the good.
I wouldn't have become a success
if you had stayed.
I'm glad that you didn't
marry me then,
because in that case I wouldn't
have met a wonderful man
whom I love now.
Believe me, everything
will work out for the best.
Life begins at 40.
It may sound trite, but it's true.
Goodbye, and please
don't call me up anymore.
I want to see my daughter!
No, you won't go there!
I'm going with you!
- This is none of your business.
- This is my business!
I'm gonna lock the door!
I'm going with you!
- Where are you going?
- Nowhere.
You're right. It's getting late.
You can go there tomorrow.
Wait, I'm coming with you!
Let go of me!
- What's going on?
- There's gonna be a fight.
- What about?
- About me.
All right, let's have the story.
I used to go out
with Volodya Kopylov.
Now I'm going with Nikita
and he loves me.
I'm in love with him too.
And Kopylov and his pals
are out to get him.
They don't want him
to see me anymore.
Nikita has bruises all over.
That shows he really loves you.
Let's go and help him.
I wanted to call the police,
but mother wouldn't let me.
She said this is something
we should handle ourselves.
- Right, that's the best way.
- There are five of them.
- Thought it over?
- Yeah, you're punks.
- Who's a punk? Me?
- You! You're another punk!
- And maybe he's a punk too?
- You're a bunch of punks!
Take it easy, boys.
Five against one, is it?
You know I don't think
I like those odds.
I'd advise you to mind
your own business, pop!
It's just that five against one
isn't my idea of a fair fight.
I don't believe in beating up
ladies and sick old men,
but I think I can make
an exception for you though.
That was just for practice.
- Just a preventive measure.
- They read books.
He could've broken my arm, you know.
- Are you an expert in judo?
- That's right.
Now get lost, pops!
Why shouldn't we take
our friend over there with us?
Well, bastard, I got the message!
The evening's been quiet till now,
but things are gonna pick up.
You want a taste of my boot, too?
Oh, you tripped!
Stay down!
Now take it easy.
Let me go! Don't bother me!
We'd better be going.
You dare lay a hand on him again
or even touch him...
- Tough girl!
- You bet!
- Are we gonna tell mother?
- No need to.
Why not? I want her to know
what you've done.
You acted like a real man.
Any man would do it.
Making a decision and fight for it
is a man's duty.
You wouldn't be proud of a woman
just because she can cook a meal?
I don't know how to cook a meal.
That's all right, I'll teach you.
Why didn't you continue
your education?
- What for?
- To become an executive.
Should everyone
be an executive?
No, not at all,
but everyone wants to.
Ever hear of the Roman emperor
Diocletian?
At the very height of his empire,
he just gave away the crown and
settled down somewhere in the country.
And when he was asked to take over
again, he said:
"Once you've seen the cabbages
that I've grown,
you'll stop asking me."
- He never went back?
- No.
You see, not everybody wants
to be some kind of leader.
Although it seems to be the only
case in the history of the world.
So you'd rather grow cabbages?
I prefer doing the things
I like doing.
I don't care a damn about prestige
or stupid fashion.
I love the kind of work I do
because I know that I'm needed.
I love my friends,
because we never get tired of
each other, of our talks.
I love your mother because...
because I love her.
- Why are you laughing?
- It's fun talking to you.
You think you're as happy
as any man could be?
No, not really.
If I could get
a glass of cold soda now,
then I'd consider myself
absolutely happy.
- You shouldn't have done it.
- Done what?
I told her everything.
I couldn't help it.
Using your fists is no way
to settle problems.
- And if they don't understand words?
- Then you didn't explain properly.
And you, a grown-up man, should've
known better than that.
Now these boys are going to believe
that might makes right.
They'll learn that using violence
they should expect violence in return.
I want you to promise me
you'll never do anything like this
without my permission.
Yes, ma'am...
But I want you to respect my wishes
as well.
If you talk to me in that manner
once more,
I will never set foot
in this house again.
As for the decisions in this house,
I'll be making them.
For the simple reason
that I'm the man here.
I'm sorry. Forgive me.
Alexandra, one of your friends.
Please never raise your voice
to me like that.
I was so afraid you'd get hurt.
I'm sorry.
You want to see mother?
So you're Alexandra?
Please come in.
- Will you join us?
- Well, thank you.
Alexandra, would you mind?
- This is for you.
- Thank you.
Are you going to introduce me
or should I do it myself?
Meet Rodion Rachkov,
he's a television cameraman.
An old friend of mine.
So old that he didn't even
recognize me when he saw me.
- Georgy and Alexandra.
- It's a pleasure. Sit down, please.
- Would you like some cognac?
- I won't say no.
There you go.
I think I have some lemon around.
Well, what did you think of the show?
Mom looked a little nervous.
- You were on TV?
- Oh, who cares?
You made quite an impression
with our bigwigs.
They saw in you a real leader
of today.
There're plans to make a film
about you.
About a woman who has made herself,
coming all the way from a common
worker to a factory director.
- Who's the director?
- Let's have a drink...
What d'you mean? Katerina, of course.
Oh yes, sure...
How long have you been working
at television?
It will be twenty-five years soon.
So you were at the very beginning?
Even then I knew
that television was
the future of mankind.
- I wanted to explain...
- I understand...
It would change our life.
There will be no books, no newspapers,
no theatre, no movies.
- What will remain?
- Only television.
- That's some misunderstanding.
- I understand.
I can agree about the movies.
But theatre...
This is a special art.
Let's talk about it
in another twenty years.
In twenty years the world will be
nothing like today.
- Have you ever visited the studios?
- No, never.
I can arrange it if you want.
I think I'll go now.
I'm pretty tired. I think
I'll get to bed early.
Don't go. I want to talk to you.
We'll talk tomorrow.
I better go.
I won't let you leave here!
She's in a very bad mood today.
He won't ever come back.
I'll never see him again!
Damn you. Why did you have to do
this to me again?
What did I do now?
- Do you know who this man is?
- Rodion Rachkov.
- He's your father.
- My father's dead!
As you can see, he's very much alive
and pretty well.
Don't cry. You know
what Moscow thinks of tears.
We shouldn't be sitting around,
we should do something!
How long has it been
since he disappeared?
A week.
Why don't you swallow your pride
and go see him yourself?
Oh, what pride. I would go to
the ends of the earth...
We don't know where he lives.
Look in the phone book, that's all.
What was his last name again?
I don't know.
A good start.
You didn't... Is anything gone
from the apartment?
What do you mean?
All right, I'll find him.
A tool and die maker, you say?
Yeah, he works in some sort of
institute.
Does he have any particular marks
I can look for?
A scar, for instance?
Not that I know of.
They took out his appendix.
That's not what I meant.
Wait for me here.
Let everyone in and no one out.
If need be, shoot first
and ask questions afterwards!
Is there a Georgy living here?
Alias Goga, alias Gosha,
or Yuri or Jora?
There's only a man named Georgy
living here. Right in there.
- Is he in there?
- I don't know.
He's there all right.
You'll have to go around.
They're redoing the walls.
To the right. And to the right again.
- Gosha.
- Nikolai.
Has it been raining hard?
For three days now.
What's going on in the world?
Another airplane was hijacked.
What's wrong with you?
Katia, you don't know how lucky
you really are!
You often said that at our age
it's impossible to fall in love.
Because a man's faults come out.
Yes, but he doesn't have any faults.
He's the most perfect man
in the whole world!
How did you expect her to tell you
that she made more money than you?
She lied to me!
That was just a misunderstanding.
No, that's the matter of principle.
Her big problem is
that a man's social standing
is more important for her
than his, that is, my personal
standing!
Translate it.
- Look...
- Some more vodka?
No!
Go and see who it is.
I told you that I'd bring him here.
And that's what I've done.
Who brought who over here
isn't very sure.
- Where is she?
- In there.
Eat some more.
- Good evening.
- Good evening.
- Gosha.
- I'm Antonina.
Sit down, please.
It's about time we were going...
I propose that we all get together
at least once a week.
From now on it's like
we're in the same family.
That's an original way
of putting it.
- Have you got dinner ready?
- Sure.
Let's eat.
I'm very hungry.
What's wrong?
It's been such a long time!
Eight days.
No. I looked for you a long time!
Not everything works out right away,
And Moscow was built not in one day.
It never took your word for it,
It only believed in love.
Whether covered with soft snow,
Or glistening in autumn glow,
It will warm a lonely soul
And nurture a tree in a grove...
Vera ALENTOVA as Katerina
Alexei BATALOV as Gosha
Irina MURAVYOVA as Ludmilla
Alexander FATIUSHIN as Gourin
Raissa RYAZANOVA as Antonina
Boris SMORCHKOV as Nikolai
Yuri VASSILIEV as Rachkov
Natalya VAVILOVA as Alexandra
Oleg TABAKOV as Volodya
Yevghenia KHANAYEVA as Rachkov's Mother
Valentina USHAKOVA as Nikolai's Mother
Victor URALSKY as Nikolai's Father
Zoya FYODOROVA as Concierge
Lia AKHEDJAKOVA as Club Manager
Tatiana KONYUKHOVA as Herself
Innokenty SMOKTUNOVSKY as Himself
Georgy YUMATOV as Himself
Leonid KHARITONOV as Himself
Pavel RUDAKOV as Himself
Veniamin NECHAYEV as Himself
Tatiana KAMENEVA
The End