Euphoria

In the opening scene, Pavel quarrels with his friend and makes a reckless decision to win Vera, regardless of her husband. The tension signals the course of obsession that will drive the story. The setting is the Eurasian steppe around Vera's house, where the couple's fates begin to intertwine.

Vera encounters Pavel at a wedding she attends with someone else's; an instant attraction sparks between them. The encounter is brief but charged, igniting a longing that complicates the marriage she has. The moment foreshadows the volatile relationship to come.

The two meet again in the steppe, but their dialogue fails to bridge their growing tension. Language or emotion seems to stall any real connection, leaving only a charged silence between them. The barren landscape mirrors the stalled communication.

Back at Vera's house, a domestic dog bites her daughter on the finger, plunging the family into panic. Valery brutally amputates the injured finger, offers vodka to calm nerves, and then kills the dog. The episode marks a grim turning point that exposes their fragile domestic dynamics.

At night Vera goes to the steppe to bury the animal and unexpectedly encounters Pavel again. The two join in burying the dog's corpse, a moment that deepens their uneasy bond. The steppe becomes a shared space where their fates become entangled.

Vera returns home to find her daughter worse off, and neighbors have already taken her to the nearest hospital. Valery sleeps, drunk from vodka, oblivious to the developing crisis. The couple's separation from the child deepens the sense of crisis.

Together with Valery, Vera goes to the river bank to see Pavel's motor boat and plead for a waterway ride to the hospital. Pavel agrees to take them along the river, offering a dangerous path to safety. The river becomes a corridor of escape and risk.

During the trip, Valery notices Vera's mud-stained dress and lashes out, striking her against the boat. Pavel immediately stops the boat, ejects Valery, and Vera and Pavel steer away. The bond between Vera and Pavel crystallizes amid danger.

Valery returns home, gets a rifle and ammunition, and sets the hut on fire as he goes to find Vera and Pavel. He prepares for a confrontation as the search escalates. The act demonstrates a descent into vengeance and madness.

In the tense aftermath, Vera and Pavel deepen their emotional and sexual bond as they try to survive their perilous journey. Their relationship shifts from desperate companionship to intimate attachment. The couple's future becomes intertwined with the danger that follows them.

Arriving at the hospital, it is revealed that the daughter is not there; neighbors have already taken her home. The confusion heightens Vera's sense of abandonment and the fragility of the family unit. Pavel's presence offers a fragile lifeline.

Pavel suggests that Vera should take her daughter and stay with him, presenting a possible escape from her loveless marriage. The proposal creates a new set of choices and raises questions about loyalty. Vera weighs the possibility of a new family with Pavel.

Drunk Valery murders a cow on the field to test whether he can kill a living being, then sits on the shore waiting for Pavel's boat. The scene underscores his spiraling violence and detachment from life. The rural setting frames his act as arbitrary and brutal.

The couple arrives; Valery shoots Pavel multiple times, injuring Vera. Pavel uses his body as a shield to protect Vera as they sail away in a blood-filled boat. The boat is damaged by bullet holes and sinks, marking a tragic end to the pursuit.