Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses

After achieving a top-ten hit in Mexico, the band settled there but fell into hard living. Alcohol, specifically tequila, dominated their days, and more than half of the band members died from drinking. Only four players and their road manager Igor survived, eventually becoming naturalized Mexicans with mustaches and mariachi-inspired wardrobes.

After parting ways with the band, Vladimir reinvented himself as a born-again figure and adopted the name Moses. When he reunites with the group in New York, he presents himself as a spiritual leader guiding them back to their 'Promised Land', Siberia, framing the journey as a sacred pilgrimage home.

Moses stows away on a plane departing New York and takes the Statue of Liberty's nose as a bizarre souvenir. This act appears to be motivated by his eccentric, almost delusional persona, the theft represents the absurd, larger-than-life nature of the journey and serves as a running plot device that draws the CIA agent Johnson to pursue them throughout their trip.

Johnson is a CIA agent who discovers Moses stole the Statue of Liberty's nose and pursues the band to recover it. He tracks them to Amiens, France, where he poses as a record producer to lure them into a hotel show. After being exposed by Moses, the band confiscates his bullets and keeps him traveling with them, eventually converting him to their cause.

Despite the trouble it attracts, the band retains the nose throughout their journey. It serves as both a symbolic artifact and a practical plot device that drives conflict. Even when Elijah threatens them at gunpoint to ditch the nose, the band refuses, and it remains with them until the end when Elijah is left alone with it at home.

At the Russian border, Moses declares that according to the Holy Bible, he will never reach the promised land. This references the Biblical Moses, who led the Israelites to the edge of the Promised Land but was not allowed to enter it. Like his namesake, Moses (Vladimir) knows he cannot complete the spiritual journey, he guides the band home but remains outside their final destination.

Johnson, the CIA agent pursuing them, reappears in the Czech Republic and renames himself Elijah after reading the Holy Bible. He proves to be a capable singer and is gradually accepted back into the group as a key performer. His transformation from pursuer to member reflects the band's strange ability to absorb anyone into their eccentric odyssey.

Since Russian rubles have no value outside their homeland, the band constantly needs money to finance their journey east. Moses secures gigs along the way, performing to earn cash for food, fuel, hospital bills, and other expenses. The road trip essentially becomes a creeping, improvised road show where performing is their only means of survival.

At the border between Poland and Russia, Moses uses a diversion, Vladimir turns in empty bottles to the customs office while the others sneak the bus across. This clever trick allows the band to cross into their homeland without proper documentation or inspection, completing their long journey home.

In Leipzig, the band recounts the birth of a sacred calf in their homeland as motivation for their journey back. This mythical calf represents hope and renewal for the band, a spiritual symbol that drives their odyssey. At the end, the band leaves gifts for the newborn calf back home, reinforcing the mythological undertones of their return.

Earlier in Leipzig, Moses and a band member exchange phrases from the Bible and Communist Manifesto, establishing the spiritual and ideological layers that culminate in the calf legend.

Moses falls from the plane during his stowaway journey but lands on a beach where the band members have gathered. This accident actually works in his favor, as he reunites with the group and continues to lead them on their eastward journey toward Siberia. The fall marks a turning point where the abstract theft becomes a real chase.

After settling in Mexico following their hit, the surviving band members and Igor became naturalized Mexican citizens. They adopted mustaches and bright, mariachi-inspired wardrobes as part of their new identity. This transformation reflects the band's willingness to adapt to wherever they find themselves, even as they ultimately yearn to return home.