The film is set in May 1930, during the early years of the Soviet Union's First Five-Year Plan, and chronicles a day in the construction of the Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Plant.
Two teams, led by Ishchenko and Khanumov, are eager to break this record, but the site manager, Margulies, must balance their enthusiasm with the need for quality and proper planning.
Although initially cautious, Margulies approves Ishchenko’s attempt to surpass the record, setting the stage for a day of intense labor and personal challenges.
Stormy weather and a sudden shortage of cement threaten the effort, prompting Korenev, a foreman, to procure supplies by any means necessary.
Just as Ishchenko's team nears the Kharkiv record, news arrives that workers at the Kuznetsk construction site have raised the bar to an astonishing 402 batches.
Margulies, in his reserved manner, responds with a quiet but heartfelt acknowledgment of their mutual bond, ending the day on a note of personal and professional resolution.
Since 1968 it has been used as the theme song of Vremya, the TV news program on USSR Central Television and Russian Channel One (although the tune has been re-orchestrated a few times since then).
The dancers wore red and black costumes while they interacted with huge figurative tractors, giant ditch-diggers, gears, and similar engine parts.