The film, of the "chernukha [ru]" (Russian: чернуха, roughly "black stuff") genre, follows Andrei as he explores his heritage and the relationship he begins with his father.

At the beginning of the film, we see him as a young antisemitic skinhead bodybuilding leader of a group called "The Cleaners" who are set on purging Russia of anyone they deem unsuitable to the Russian bloodline, including, Jews, homosexuals, foreigners and mentally challenged individuals.

The opening scene depicts a crowd of skinheads waving Russian flags and fighting a gang of bikers who they believed have succumbed to western influence and ideology.

As the movie progresses, Andrei's quest for his father is successful, and we are introduced to Naoum Kheifitz (Oleg Borisov), a once-influential Jewish composer and conductor who is now forced to make a living as an entertainer at private parties.

The cramped, often hectic apartment of Naoum Kheifitz (Oleg Borisov) is an excellent example showing some of the living conditions people were faced with at the end of the Soviet period.

Janet Maslin from The New York Times noted it as being "murky and jumbled"[3] and John Griffin of The Montreal Gazette claimed it was a "long - too long- strange trip" into the way of post-Soviet Russian life.