Gennadi Korolkov

A tavern on Pyatnitskaya street is a meeting place for all kind of criminals. The only way for police to infiltrate the criminals is to send an undercover agent to the tavern.

In November, 1942, near the Volga, Stanlingrad is under siege of Commander Friederich Paulus and his 330,000 men. The Russian high command unleashes an operation to protect the Mishkova River to avoid that about four hundred tanks join Paulus' army. The Soviet artillery soldiers protect their position with their lives in a bloodshed with few survivors.

The events of the film take place in the 1960s. The Great Patriotic War ended long ago. A calm life has come. It turns out to be not a fun holiday, but a daily routine. The main character of the picture is Viktor Chernyshov, an ordinary Soviet guy. After school, he did not study further; he went to work at the factory as a turner. His life is very monotonous: in the afternoon work at the factory, Komsomol meetings at which he is present through force, because important issues are not discussed at them. In the evenings, Viktor with young people like him who are not yet twenty years old, gather in the street. The protagonist needs nothing, his life flows slowly and is completely meaningless. He wants to be like everyone else. The aimless and unhurried passage of time, long conversations, and only dancing in a cafe a little enliven the boring life of Viktor Chernyshov.