Peculiarities of the National Hunt in the Winter

Raivo, a young Finnish student, travels to Russia to study the mannerisms of a typical Russian hunt and is taken in by former General Ivolgin and his band. He expects an eloquent, aristocratic pursuit but quickly learns the reality is chaotic and boozy. The set-up establishes the cultural clash at the heart of the comedy.

Ivolgin's band includes the outrageous Kuzmich and several other eccentrics, setting the tone for an unpredictable expedition. Raivo's hopes for a refined hunt clash with the group's heavy drinking and improvisation. The dynamic hints that the trip will be more about misadventure than a traditional hunt.

During a boozy night, a bear sneaks into their banya, terrifying the men for a stretch. The incident becomes a running source of slapstick tension and a reminder of the wild Russian countryside they've entered. The bear episode foreshadows how chaos eclipses any formal hunt.

A Militsiya officer loses his pistol amid the fracas, underscoring the thin line between law and disorder in their misadventures. The missing firearm complicates safety and adds to the film's farcical mood. The incident widens the scope of their escapades beyond the hunt.

Lev accidentally or carelessly detonates a stick of dynamite, sending a loud blast through the camp. The explosion punctuates the group’s chaotic travel and feeds into the slapstick rhythm of the hunt. The aftermath leaves characters both shaken and amused.

A cow goes missing, initially believed to have been shot during the hunt, and later linked to a spate of stolen Police UAZs. The caper widens the roaming misadventures beyond the planned hunt. The team improvises as authorities and locals react to the strange events.

Kuzmich hatches a ludicrous plan to ferry a cow to a relative using a bomber in exchange for vodka. The scheme epitomizes the absurd improvisation that defines the group's escapades. The image of a cow strapped to a bomber becomes a memorable running joke.

The group’s wanderings bring them into contact with milkmaids, adding rustic color and more humorous misdirections. These interactions illustrate the everyday rhythms of rural life contrasted with reckless antics. The encounters deepen the episodic texture of the film.

Raivo envisions a formal, 19th-century-style hunt, complete with dogs, horses, and French-speaking participants pursuing a giant wolf. The fantasy is presented in sharp contrast to the chaos around him and serves as a quiet critique of his longing for order. The imagined hunt feels elegant but detached from the group’s reality.

As the group attempts a makeshift hunt, surreal details appear: a pineapple is plucked from a hedgerow, Earth is depicted as visible in the sky, and the missing cow seems to come back to life. These odd discoveries punctuate the narrative with whimsical, dreamlike humor. They reinforce that the hunt is more about misfits and chance than pursuit.

Throughout, the hunt never coalesces into a traditional pursuit; the characters drift from one misadventure to another. The film uses this to satirize hunting lore and camaraderie in a farcical light. The audience is left with a sense that the hunt is more ceremonial than actively pursued.

Toward the end, the group sits around a crackling campfire as Raivo's imagined world and the group's chaotic reality merge on screen. The campfire scene visually fuses memory, myth, and friendship with the present chaos. The closing frame marks a soft, reflective tonal shift.