It shows how a local scribe, Fintyk, tries to seduce a female farmer, Tetyana, whose husband, Mykhailo, as a chumak left for Crimea for nine weeks to bring salt.
All Russian soldiers did not speak Ukrainian; in Ukraine they were called moskali (moskal – singular) hence the name of the movie.
The young lady tries to cover up her out-of-marriage relationship and lets the soldier to stay for rest.
Then there are few scenes that reflect the peculiar inter-ethnic relationship between Ukrainians and Russians in face of the soldier.
By the end of the movie the soldier finally pulls the scribe out of a hiding place while Mykhailo is blacking out whether out of a liquor or being shocked realizing the situation.