The Coldest Winter Since 1854

The story follows Maria Konovalova who travels from her rural village to visit her daughter Nina in the city. Maria's arrival exposes the stark contrasts between rural and urban lifestyles and reveals deep-seated family tensions. Interestingly, Родня (Rodnya) in Russian sounds very similar to the word Родина (Rodina), which means "Motherland." The film features three generations of women — Maria, her daughter Nina, and her granddaughter Irina — symbolizing three different Russias: one from the past, one modern, and one representing the future.

A notebook falls into the hands of a young journalist, where he finds memoirs about his grandfather, who died in the civil wars of the early 20s. The writing does not correspond to the family legend woven about the grandfather. The young man tries to restore the truth.

Two Armenian emigrants met in distant America. A boy with long, beautiful hair and a hairdresser who has a lot of fascinating stories in stock. The further friendship of the two dreamers is unlikely to be prevented by funny tufts of hair sticking out after an inept haircut...