Ivan is old Russia: thick, dour, hard-working, often brutish; he misses Communism. He drives a taxi and one night meets Alexi, a new Russian, a musician, an alcoholic, irresponsible. Alexi stiffs Ivan for the fare, so Ivan tracks him down and a love-hate relationship ensues. When Alexi lets the bath water run over in Ivan's flat and Ivan must pay 500 rubles for repairs, he tries to force Alexi into day labor to repay him. It's hopeless. Then, suddenly, Alexi is discovered, goes on a jazz tour of America, becomes a celebrity, and returns in triumph. Ivan longs to renew the friendship, and it looks as if he may get what he wants.
| Directing | Pavel Lungin | Director |
| Writing | Pavel Lungin | Writer |
| Editing | Elisabeth Guido | Editor |
| Crew | Denis Evstigneev | Cinematography |
| Production | Olga Vasilyeva | Producer |
| Production | Pavel Lungin | Producer |
| Production | Sergey Shumakov | Producer |
| Sound | Vladimir Chekasin | Music |
| Production | Pierre Rival | Producer |
| Production | Vladimir Repnikov | Producer |
| Production | Marin Karmitz | Producer |
| Production | Mark Gekht | Producer |
| Production | Alexandr Golutva | Producer |
| Art | Valeri Yurkevich | Production Design |
| Art | Aleksei Shkele | Set Designer |
| Directing | Yuri Kryuchkov | Assistant Director |
| Camera | Eduard Gimpel | Additional Director of Photography |
| Costume & Make-Up | Larisa Avdyushko | Makeup Artist |
| Crew | Viktor Ivanov | Stunt Coordinator |
| Crew | Aleksandr Inshakov | Stunt Coordinator |
| Sound | Pierre Lorrain | Sound Designer |
