Kin-dza-dza!

Construction foreman Vladimir Mashkov, known as Uncle Vova, arrives at his apartment after work. His wife asks him to buy groceries, setting up a mundane domestic life before the extraordinary events begin. This scene establishes the ordinary world the protagonists inhabit before the strange encounter.

On a central street in Moscow, a strange barefoot man in a tattered coat asks passersby about numbers of planets and galaxies. Uncle Vova and the Violinist stop to talk with him, intrigued by the stranger's questions. The encounter hints at a propulsive device and travel beyond Earth.

The stranger demonstrates a teleportation device and cautions about its dangers. Against his warning, Vova presses a button and triggers a teleport. They are suddenly whisked away to the planet Pluke in the Kin-dza-dza galaxy.

Vova and the Violinist arrive on the arid, alien world of Pluke. The Plukanians look human but show a primitive technology and a barbaric culture, while remaining telepathic and quickly adapting to Russian and Georgian. The new environment sets the stage for a satire of human society.

A handheld visator identifies them as Patsaks with a green light, placing them within Pluke's social hierarchy. The Patsak-Chatlanian divide drives conflict and comedy as characters navigate status. The device foreshadows the rules they must follow.

Pluke's society is split into Patsaks and Chatlanians, with Patsaks holding privilege. The ecilops police enforce obedience, and respect is shown by counting 'ku' in interactions with others. The color of pants signals social standing, shaping daily life on Pluke.

Pluke runs on a fuel called 'luts', made from water, making water itself precious. All natural water has been processed into luts, turning drinking water into a valuable commodity. This scarcity drives the travelers' decisions and conflicts.

During their stay, the locals Uef and Bi alternate between helping and abandoning Uncle Vova and the Violinist. Their shifting loyalties shape the duo's efforts to get back home. Uef and Bi's involvement adds size to the quest and danger to their escape plan.

A recurring plot point is that wooden matchsticks, ketse, are extremely valuable on Pluke. Vova and Violinist must secure them to trade or power devices. The quest for ketse drives interactions with Uef, Bi, and P-Zh's private compound.

The man from the opening scene returns Uncle Vova and the Violinist to the very beginning of the film. They find themselves in a world that seems familiar but they no longer recognize each other. The reset creates a paradoxical loop that comments on memory and fate.

As Vova goes outside, the city center seems devoid of the mysterious man. He meets the Violinist again, but they do not recognize one another, illustrating the effects of the reset. A tractor with orange lights triggers a remembered ritual and reshapes their perception.

A passing tractor and the familiar cry of 'ku' remind them of their Pluke identities. Vova looks to the sky and hears a song performed by Uef and Bi, linking the two timelines and leaving a haunting sense that life on Pluke persists beyond the reset.