Dmitry Grebennikov

In late 18th-century Russia, village life is shaped by a fusion of rural superstitions, pagan beliefs and traces of Orthodox Christianity. Twin girls are violently separated when one is believed to be possessed, accused of draining the vitality of her sister. Meanwhile, a young man, branded a freak and outcast, obsessively constructs mechanical wings in a desperate attempt to fly like Icarus. Overseeing this turbulent world are Europeanised feudal lords who maintain brutal, cynical control over the peasants, exacerbating class tensions.

Having learned from his younger brother Pashka about the mysterious death of his father, Yegor returns to his native village after many years of absence. It turns out that the entire inheritance - a farm with a small number of cows and a piece of land - must go to pay off the father's debts to a local entrepreneur. Pashka is categorically against the slaughter of cows and the sale of land. A quarrel breaks out between the brothers. Yegor asks local guys to help take the cows to the neighboring village to the slaughterhouse, but Pashka is ahead of them, who, under cover of night, takes the whole herd in an unknown direction.