Anatoliy Baluev

A pre-war Russian village. Two harmonica player friends are in love with the same girl. The rivalry of the characters unfolds against a musical background — who will outplay whom. The war begins. Both of them return from the war, but one of them can no longer play, which does not mean that he loses...

The film is based on the plot of Georgy Nikolaev's short story 'Along the Path of the Indians'. Despite the presence of three actors (appearing as extras), the film contains no dialogue at all — only a musical score. Composed of disjointed fragments of newsreel footage and shot in the style of faded, yellowed film stock, it serves as a philosophical reflection on human life and one's actions in this world.

Nizhny Tagil resident Andrey Gagarin comes on vacation to his homeland in the Komi-Permyatsky district in the village of Bolshaya Kocha, where in the past he led the folklore group "Micha Asyv" ("Clear Morning"). He visits relatives and friends, together they perform folk songs and dances, talk about the national traditions of their small northern people. In addition, together with all his fellow villagers, Andrei takes part in "bull-killing", an ancient rite of sacrifice of a bull, unusual for modern times.

The film represents a story about the village the director of the film was born and grew up in