The plot is divided into five vignettes, about four different generations of one family involved in four distinct conflicts over nearly a century. Central to each story is the arrival of a new born boy, whose beginning to life is precarious for varying reasons. The baby boys are in turn, shunned, ignored, loved and abandoned. As with any Russian drama, violent and tragic death is never far away. Various cast members are involved throughout the stories, and good use is made of some recurring motifs, such as goats. The unfolding of the story telling itself is creative and original, even though the subject matter itself grows progressively grimmer with each story.
There are a few heroic figures here, mostly there are just ordinary people swept up in events they have no control over and that twist and contort them. Most characters manage to hang on to, or rediscover some semblance of their humanity, which is one of the main messages of the film, most but not all. The film also wrestles with the darker side of human nature and does not shy away from showing the depths to which warfare has sunk. Some of the stories are concluded, some are cut off, leaving the viewer to wonder what will happen next. This is not a film for the faint hearted, but it is a film to ponder on, long after it is over. I am unfamiliar with the work of writer/director Aleksey Muradov, but after this film, l am interested in seeing more of his work.
