- Grandfather Kuzya: Hunger comes and goes. But dignity, once lost, never returns.
- [growls at young Kolyma]
- Title Card: In the Soviet Union, under Communism, entire criminal communities of various ethnicities were deported, for security reasons, from their homelands to a region in the southwest of the USSR. The area quickly became a ghetto for these criminals, divided and run by the various clans. Among these the poorest, but the most feared, was the clan of Siberians.
- [first lines]
- [first lines]
- Grandfather Kuzya: [leading ceremony] By our ancestors, free hunters, and warriors, by the great Northern Forests, by the river Lena, and amore, we pray to you. Blessed Mary, Mother of God, full of grace, hear the words of this your humble servant. Forgive us honest criminals for the sins we are forced to commit. Assist us in our battle against power-mongering Polit bureaucrats, and their minions, cops and soldiers, And every other devil in uniform. Oh most gracious mother of the most gracious God. Bless our weapons, temper our knives, guide our bullets, and anoints us so that our grasp may become yours.
- Kolyma: Once, when I was 4, I won the record for beatings. My father beat me for half an hour, and I didn't cry. Not once.
- Xenya: Why?
- Kolyma: Why what?
- Xenya: Why did not you cry?
- Kolyma: Because men don't cry.
- Xenya: Oh. Poor men. It is good to cry.
- Kolyma: Are you happy when you cry?
- Xenya: That is too hard a question. This is what I think. I think... that you do not cry, but I do not read. And that is worse than crying.
- Kolyma: What do you mean, you don't read?
- Xenya: Xenya does not know how to read. Poor Xenya.
- Gagarin: [to Xenya] Are you crying for me? Let me tell you, it is not worth it. Nobody had ever cried for me.
- Grandfather Kuzya: People call them crazy, insane, abnormal. All because we don't understand what they're thinking and saying. But their language is the language of God. That's why they are called a gift from God. And we must respect them all. No one is allowed to lay a finger on them, and it's up to us to protect them, even if it costs us our lives.
- Grandfather Kuzya: Now, let us drink our teafil, the best tea in the whole world. First, we enjoy its warmth, and we appreciate its aroma. And only then do we taste its flavor. Three pleasures in one. And to think it's only just water.
- [laughs heartily]
- Captive Soldier: [about his leader] You'll never catch him, because Allah is on his side.
- Kolyma: That's funny, 'cause I'm pretty sure He's on my side. God helps one side sometimes, and sometimes He helps the other. What matters is being on the right side at the right moment.
- Grandfather Kuzya: [in prison letter] Kolyma, my son, I have seen to it that money has arrived in hands of the right people, so you will be getting out soon. Unfortunately, this is not good news. I had to do this because when you are free, an even more difficult task awaits you. - Grandfather Kuzya
- Grandfather Kuzya: When a criminal dies, his switchblade must be broken. One part remains with him, and part with the person whom he loves most in this world.
- Kolyma 10: Why?
- Grandfather Kuzya: Because that way, on Judgement Day, they can find each other and be reunited in peace.
- [last lines]
- Kolyma: Dear Mama, you were right. Some choices don't allow you to turn back. And now, I can never come home again. I think of you often. Take care of your self. I have decided to follow the sun, and will go west. I'm not sure what my future holds, but I can tattoo, use a knife, and shoot a gun. Don't worry about me, I was taught to respect life, and I know how to.