In a Yakut village, two single-parent families live opposite each other, without mothers. The timid and unrequited Ivan (Georgiy Bessonov) is constantly humiliated by his neighbor, the daring and self-confident neighbor Vlad (Evgeniy Nikolaev). After Vlad beats Ivan in front of his son (Erhan Sleptsov), the teenager becomes disillusioned with his father and begins to spend more and more time with his abuser.
Ivan, a single father raising a teenage boy, can't seem to keep from getting pushed around by the other inhabitants of his village in the Republic of Sakha – whether it's getting cheated out of the agreed-upon full price he's owed for a boat he built, or putting up with derogatory remarks without defending himself on other occasions. His son Taras gradually begins to lose any respect for him. The situation escalates when Ivan's new boat, which represents financial security, is set on fire. Fingers are pointed and a fight breaks out between him and Vlad, another single dad, who ends up overpowering him, awakening Taras' interest in a new attachment figure. From this point on, Taras visits Vlad and his son on a daily basis, initially helping them at work, with great enthusiasm, before eventually moving in with them permanently. Step by step, he establishes a sort of dominance over Vlad's own son, until he ultimately becomes the favourite child in the household. In long, calm, minimalistic black-and-white shots, director Dmitrii Davydov explores the crushing power dynamics his compelling narrative lays bare. A film about our life. No snot. About weakness and strength. And what is this power anyway?
Dmitry Davydov
