Taking place in the city of Veles, the film is a coming-of-age story about a talented but abused schoolboy who is betrayed by illusory hopes of a better future and transformed by harsh circumstances into a criminal.

Following its release in Canada and the United States, it was well-received by most critics, who have generally praised the film for its uncompromising realism and lead actor's performance.

They consist of his father Lazo (Vlado Jovanovski), a drunkard addicted to bingo and involved in a workers' strike; his cowed, unsupportive mother Angja (Elena Mosevska); and his promiscuous, abusive sister Fanny (Slavica Manaskova).

At school, Marko suffers torment from bullies led by Levi (Martin Jovchevski), son of the Albanian police chief Blashko (Dejan Acimovic).

A sensitive boy, Marko has a talent for composing poetry; a character half-jokingly refers to him as "Kočo Racin II".

He encourages Marko to take part in a French-sponsored poetry contest whose winners will represent Macedonia in Paris, as well as to recite his entry during their school's upcoming Independence Day celebrations.

Furthermore, Fanny begins an affair with a black Kosovo Force soldier, providing Marko's racist bullies with more fuel.

Scarred in the face by a broken bottle and recognized by the night watchman, Marko escapes and seeks refuge in the train graveyard.

He replaces Marko with classmate Jasmina (Marija Sikalovska) for their Independence Day poetry recital, ghostwriting a patriotic poem for her.

[2] In order given by the film's credits: Svetozar Ristovski conceived of Marko's personality as a combination of outward fragility and inner toughness, choosing Kovacevic for his ability to project these dual qualities.

[6] As part of this coming-of-age process, the protagonist Marko spends much of the film searching for paternal figures such as Paris and his teacher to compensate for his father's inadequacies and become alternative role models for him.

[4] Ristovski also intended the film to portray social conditions in post-independence Macedonia, depicting it as a society plagued by anomie, violence and corruption.

[10] In this context, Marko's transition from victimhood to criminality embodies the cycle of violence endemic in such conditions,[11][12] while his failed hopes serve as a cautionary warning against the dangers of empty idealism in such situations.

[13] One critic saw Paris' bullet in Marko's chess set (see figure on the right) as a metaphor for the threat of violence ever-present in their world.

"[18] One critic saw Marko's train graveyard (see figure on the left) as a metaphor for the hopelessness of his particular story: "there are tracks everywhere but no hope of transport.

He credited his Canadian-born colleague with providing the film an "international" perspective and giving its story a more "universal" dimension,[23] thus steering it away from parochialism.

[14] The casting director for the film was Nikola Hejko,[24] who was chosen primarily for his prior work with juvenile actors in movies such as Kolya (1996) and The Great Water (2004).

[35] According to his WKCR interview, he and Samoilovski aimed for a visual style that combined both "aesthetic beauty" and documentary-style "grittiness" in the film's depiction of Veles.

The Hollywood Reporter found the film's treatment of Marko's story "unremittingly grim and powerful",[12] while TV Guide praised it for being "tense [and] gripping" as well as "starkly beautiful".

[13] The New York Times faulted the film's story for being somewhat "underdeveloped", but concluded with guarded praise for its "unnerving window on a Balkan country".

[48] Following its European premiere, the Macedonian daily Utrinski Vesnik praised the film for its realism and imagery, but concluded by criticizing its emphasis on misery for being one-sided.

His performance was lauded as "remarkable" by Variety[14] and "superb" by The Hollywood Reporter,[12] while The Village Voice commended him for "channel[ing] gentle and ferocious with equal ease"[19] in his depiction of the protagonist.