Irina Yegorova

According to the story of the same name by Vladimir Makanin. Mitya Rodiontsev, a young employee of the research institute, for some time now became one of those who were in the close circle of the secretary of the director Aglaya Andreyevna and felt well protected from the vicissitudes of fate. Having become a “retinue”, Mitya was no longer engaged in science, but was busy for those who needed him, openly respected him and saw him as a future leader. But once Rodiontsev was not invited to the director’s office for a weekly tea party...

The late 1950s. Every night, Soviet tractors comb the coast of Latvia looking for signs of anyone who could have infiltrated the Soviet border from the sea. One morning, three Soviet patrolmen discover a woman’s shoe in the sand and footsteps leading to the quaint little village of Liepaja.

The action of the film takes place in Latvia and spans the period from 1939 to the early 1970s. The events that occurred in the country had various effects on the fates of the characters. But throughout it all, love guided them — it scattered and gathered, made them suffer terribly, and made them the happiest people in the world...

The Hijacker lands the plane at the Rīga Airport. 7 year-old Tom, travelling on his own, voluntarily becomes a hostage. Along with the traditional demands, the Hijacker adds the demands of the little hostage – beginning with some local chocolate and a self-instruction tape for learning the native language, and ending with organizing a Song Festival and a special biathletes’ performance – all ideas originating from a CD on Latvia.