House Under the Starry Skies

Bashkirtsev returns from an abroad assignment to his late Soviet Perestroika era home for an anniversary celebration. Valentin Komposterov, a 'friend from Mosconcert', performs a shocking magic trick by sawing Konstantin's wife in half, and then claims he cannot reassemble her now that 'everything has healed'. The sequence unsettles the guests and plants a sense that something monstrous has invaded the family circle.

Over the next day, Komposterov's provocative behavior escalates and he behaves like a malevolent spirit, bringing death and ruin into Bashkirtsev's home. The atmosphere darkens as the family realizes the danger is more than mere eccentricity. Bashkirtsev feels the house itself turning hostile.

Bashkirtsev requests bodyguards and security forces flood the residence, turning it into a fortress. The family watches as police and protective detail struggle to keep out the creeping threat posed by Komposterov. Yet the menace seems to seep through every door and window.

Nika, Bashkirtsev's daughter, meets a young flute player named Timofey on Arbat Street. He lives in an empty hangar and is secretly building a hot-air balloon from stolen materials. A romance blossoms between them, offering a counterpoint to the turmoil at home.

Bashkirtsev dies under suspicious circumstances after being kidnapped and tortured by mysterious men whose actions parody KGB covert operations. The family attends his funeral and then prepares to fly to the United States to join Bashkirtsev's elder son Boris. Nika stays behind to wrap up affairs.

Komposterov returns to the family home, threatening Konstantin with death and implying violence against the household. Nika remains present, and Konstantin, Timofey, and Nika begin to plot a dangerous escape. The threat now feels personal and imminent.

When Komposterov leaves to buy vodka, Konstantin, Nika, and Timofey escape in a Pobeda, pursued through the streets. The escape ends with Zhora, a mentally disabled plumber, and Komposterov's mangled corpse found in a wrecked car, but Komposterov himself suddenly reappears alive. The mystery of his survival deepens the night’s nightmare.

Konstantin confronts the monster and shoots Komposterov; the supposed dead man dissolves into water, as if his malevolence can only vanish in a literal liquid form. The family breathes a sigh of temporary relief, unsure if the threat is truly gone. The moment marks a troubling blend of violence and uncanny recurrence.

As Konstantin, Timofey, and Nika prepare to ascend in the hot-air balloon, the resurrected Komposterov returns and fires a laser beam, killing Kostya at the moment of liftoff. The ascent becomes a battlefield in the sky rather than a peaceful escape. The balloon carries them toward a fragile freedom while danger trails close behind.

Timofey and Nika shoot Komposterov again, burn his corpse, and even urinate on it to seal his doom. They manage to lift off in the balloon, leaving the ground battles behind as the world falls away beneath them. The act of burning the body seals the final confrontation for now.

As Timofey and Nika ascend, KGB agents arrive at the scene, ready to seize the fugitives. The chase shifts from the ground to the air, with state security in hot pursuit. The ending promises a tense confrontation beyond the horizon.

The balloon drifts outward, carrying Timofey and Nika away from the collapsing world below. The film closes on their silhouettes fading into the horizon, a symbol of fragile freedom under the looming gaze of the state. The audience is left with the sense that danger may follow wherever they go.