Emil Braginskiy

Two strangers believe in love but never seem to be able to find its true meaning. In a wild twist of events, fate puts each in the other's path on one stormy New Year's Eve.

Anatoly Novoseltsev is a mousy single father and office stumblebum working at a statistics bureau in Moscow. In the hopes of being promoted, he is coaxed into charming his disagreeable and seemingly unfeeling boss, Ludmila Kalugina, or "Meany" as she's otherwise known by her subordinates. Helped by his colleagues Olya and Yura, Anatoly attempts to ease the yoke of Ms. Kalugina, and what follows in the wake of his graceless manoeuvres is completely unforeseen, as he awakens a side to her not yet known, even to herself..

In Italy, a dying woman tells her granddaughter that she hid her treasure many years ago in Russia, in the city of Leningrad. As more people learn about it, they head to Leningrad to find the lion where it is rumoured to be buried.

A group of old friends have a tradition of going to a public bathing house on New Year's Eve. Occasionally too much vodka and beer makes two of them unconscious. The problem is that one of them (Sasha) has to go to Leningrad but another one (Zhenya) goes. Zhenya wakes up at Leningrad airport. Believing that he is still in Moscow he takes a taxi and goes home. The street name, building and even apartment number, the way an apartment complex looks the same and the key coincide completely - just typical Soviet-type 'economy' architecture. Imagine the surprise of Nadya when she enters her apartment and finds a man without trousers in her bed. What's more - Nadya's fiancé also finds him there...

An insurance agent who moonlights as a car thief steals cars various crooks and never from the common people. He sells the stolen cars and gives the money to charity. His best friend, a cop, is assigned to bring in this modern robin hood.

An old detective does not want to retire. The only way out is to prove to his boss that he still can catch criminals. The problem is that there were no crimes recently to work on. Together with his retired friend he decides to commit a perfect crime himself and then quickly solve it. Real problems start when a real criminal steals money he has stolen.

Platon Ryabinin, a pianist, is traveling by train to a distant town of Griboedov to visit his father. He gets off to have lunch during a twenty minute stop at Zastupinsk railway station. He meets Vera, a waitress, after he refuses to pay her for the disgusting food he doesn't even touch and misses his train due to police investigation of the incident. His passport is then accidentally taken away from him by Andrei, Vera's fiancé, and his money is stolen as he waits for the next train to Griboedov. Vera learns that Platon is about to get sentenced and sent to prison in the Far East for a car accident he isn't guilty for. During the few days that Platon has to spend in Zastupinsk he and Vera develop feelings for each other...

Thirty years have passed since Zhenya and Nadya met—they broke up, and Nadya moved to Leningrad. The friends still go to the bathhouse, and now they are joined by Konstantin, Zhenya's son. Uncle Pasha and Uncle Sasha persuade Kostya to arrange a New Year's miracle for his father and send him to St. Petersburg. Nadya's daughter lives at that very address, and on the same day, her fiancé, Irakli, is planning to propose to her.

Based on the short story by Jack London. 1910 year. Mexican patriots are preparing an uprising against the dictatorship of Diaz. Young Felipe Rivera joins the revolutionary junta, whose father and mother were shot by dictators. The hour of rebellion is near, but the heroes lack weapons. To get the necessary amount of money, Rivera decides to perform in the ring against Ward, America’s strongest boxer...

An automotive highway is scheduled to be built through the territory of a garage cooperative. A special meeting of the cooperative takes place to reduce the number of garages. As all was already decided and arranged by the chairholder and the board, the decision passes easily at the meeting. But one unexpected event happens - the meeting room's entrance has been locked by an anonymous member and the key is missing...

Photo studio "Contemporary" in a provincial town lives with its everyday problems. The director is concerned over the failure to fulfill the planned targets, receptionist Alevtina wants to get married, and photographer Vladimir Oreshnikov dreams of becoming a professional photographer. But suddenly luck smiles on Oreshnikov. He takes 20 rubles form the worker's mutual aid fund, buys a government lottery bond and wins 10,000 rubles. Oreshnikov wants to receive the win himself, but his colleagues object to him, because the money that he spent on the bond were public, hence the win should be divided equally among all workers. It creates a controversial situation, which is successfully resolved on the very eve of the New Year, under the chiming clock...

Kashtanov, professor of medicine and famous Moscow surgeon, is experiencing midlife crisis. Suddenly he decides to leave everything and escape to the countryside in order to spend some time with old friends.

During a Soviet circus tour in Japan, a small street musician, Ken, meets a clown, Yuri Nikulin. Upon learning that his sick father is being treated in the Soviet Union, Ken sets off in search of him. The friendship of the great clown and the boy continues in Moscow.

A flutist in the forgotten past, at present the husband of a “big man’s” daughter and head of one of the Chief Directorate’s sections felt unwell one day: the forty-year-old man had a pain in his heart. This unpleasant incident provided an opportunity to meet a nurse named Lida. However, their stormy love affair ended, with Filimonov returning to normal life and an unloved wife.

An interesting voyage through the Soviet television and film industry.

Aspiring photographer is courting a relative of a man who holds a high official position for careerist reasons. In the name of that, he breaks up with his bride, but his plans weren't destined to come true.

Five sad and funny romantic stories about love...

Rich Italian Luciana Farini goes to Russia to her ancestral homeland, where she wants to bury her beloved dog. A light detective intrigue, the absurdities of Russian life and love at first sight.

A music teacher is trying to organize a choir in the school he works in.

After the Bolshevik seizure of power in 1917. A Russian engineer gets the assignment to purchase locomotives from Sweden. Paid in gold. Claimed by the opponents of the revolution.