A loser wins everything, then loses it all to a traffic cop's wife.
Initially, all the events take place in Moscow, where the main character Dima accidentally ends up in a casino after a series of failures. And then he starts to get lucky. First, he wins a million and a chic car, and then unexpectedly Dima is invited by his old friend from St. Petersburg to celebrate the New Year. On the new car, the main character of the film rushes towards the northern capital, but in the middle of the road, near Valdai, his watchful car policeman Pavel stops him. Dima, trying to melt the heart of a law enforcement officer, tells Pavel a touching story about his beloved, who lives in the small town of Valdai. However, the randomly named address turns out to be the address where Paul himself lives. Shocked traffic cop arranges a confrontation with the so-called "lovers."
Acting
Abdulov's desperate charm as Dima keeps this absurd train moving.
Writing
Coincidence piled on coincidence — pure farce architecture.
Director
Vladimir Fatyanov
Aleksandr Abdulov
Dima
Sergey Nikonenko
Pavel, GAI inspector
Sergei Stepanchenko
Vasily
Irina Rozanova
Vera Petrovna
Inna Pivars
Zina
Andrey Makarevich
musician in transition
Larisa Udovichenko
Svetlana
Oleg Yankovskiy
Himself
Leonid Yarmolnik
Himself
Tatiana Navka
figure skater
Tatyana Kravchenko
seller Dusia
Larisa Dolina
Himself
Natalya Shchukina
Foma's wife
Aleksandr Sirin
Zhenia
Yelena Stepanova
Zhenia's wife
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Aleksandr Abdulov's final film as director; he died months after its release. His dual role as star and co-director gives the comedy an unexpectedly valedictory quality.
The GAI traffic police were notoriously corrupt in 2000s Russia — making Pavel's eventual decency almost fantastical. The film softens a genuine social tension into holiday warmth.
RU
