A Fairy Tale for the Old

In a dim bar, Junior tells a bizarre, contradictory story to a friend, setting a tone of intrigue and unease. The tale hints at a vanished crime figure and a wider conspiracy, leaving the listener both skeptical and curious. This opening framing primes the audience for the hunt to come.

Three years after Muliya vanished with the gang money, rumors spread that he might be alive. Sightings surface in Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Rostov, fueling a city-wide sense of mystery. The whispers prompt Batya to take action.

Criminal boss Batya flags the three 'sons' (Senior, Middle, and Junior) to investigate the sightings. Each son will pursue a different city, treating the case as a test of loyalty and nerve. The assignment marks the formal start of their separate journeys.

In Novosibirsk, Senior enlists help from a local dwarf skilled at finding people. The two set off through abandoned buildings and snowy wastelands in a calculated search. The pursuit hints at a larger, surreal game beyond a simple missing-person case.

Senior follows the clues through bleak landscapes until he encounters a group of celebrants in costumes. The disturbing spectacle blends crime with carnival and tests his resolve. The scene underscores the odd, dreamlike atmosphere of the pursuit.

Junior reconnects with an old acquaintance in Saint Petersburg, only to realize the supposed allies intend to harm this friend. The investigation reveals a built-in trap as they scramble for safety. A lead on Muliya emerges, and a guide escorts Junior by elevator to a mysterious location.

In Rostov, Middle is tricked and left stranded in the woods, cut off from the others. His isolation intensifies the sense that nothing is what it seems. The search takes a grim turn as he stumbles toward a startling discovery.

Middle witnesses men transporting a coffin bearing a man who looks exactly like Muliya, and they arrive at a wake hosted by Yakov the Stableman, who also resembles Muliya. The coincidence deepens the strangeness and blurs identity. The scene plants the seed for a possible reunion, or a deception, in Rostov.

The next day, Middle and Yakov/Muliya begin a journey to bring him to Batya, but they are interrupted by a passing costumed procession. The spectacle disrupts the plan and emphasizes the film’s ritual, almost ceremonial pace. The moment widens the gap between belief and absurd reality.

Middle tracks Yakov/Muliya to a nearby house, entering through a metal door and stepping into a kitchen where Muliya, Batya, Senior, and Junior sit together chatting. They drink tea and discuss the end of winter and the coming of spring. The scene collapses boundaries between family, enemies, and the supernatural.

Overwhelmed, Middle admits he cannot parse what he has witnessed. Senior offers a blunt, almost soothing perspective: accept things as they are and wish everyone a good spring. The advice sits oddly well in the room, softening the tension with absurd warmth.

As they toast to spring, the laughter erupts among all four—Muliya, Batya, Senior, and Junior—blurring lines between truth and performance. The scene caps the journey with a sense of absurd completion and a quiet, dreamlike harmony. The film closes on a note where borders between identities dissolve.