Promised Heaven

A makeshift community forms on a landfill near Moscow, where homeless people have gathered in the twilight of the Soviet Union. The group is led by the former party worker Dmitry Loginov, nicknamed the President, and includes Anthemia (Fima), Fyodor Yelistratov, Solomon, and Katya. They try to survive and keep some sense of dignity as the social order around them unravels.

One night, the President reveals a startling belief: aliens have contacted them and promised to transport everyone to a happier planet. The people cling to the tale, hoping for an escape, and they watch for a signal—the fall of blue snow.

With the promise in mind, they begin preparing for a long voyage, stocking supplies and organizing the camp for a cross-planet voyage. They frame the future around the blue snow signal, even as the real world outside intensifies.

Meanwhile, city authorities decide to liquidate the landfill to make way for a condom factory funded by American investors. The threat of eviction adds urgency to the residents’ resolve to defend their home.

Security forces edge closer, and the authorities demonstrate they are prepared to use force to clear the camp. The President and his followers brace for confrontation as tanks and police tighten the noose around the landfill.

Then, on a cold winter night, blue snow begins to fall from the sky, turning the moment into a surreal omen. The dream of alien salvation feels suddenly more tangible and perilous.

Eager to meet the visitors, the President leads his people outside, only to discover heavily armed police and T-55 tanks approaching to raze their shacks. The crowd’s hope collides with brutal enforcement in a tense stand-off.

In a decisive act, the desperate residents load into an old steam locomotive, powering it up as a last resort. They seek to escape the encroaching force and flee toward whatever lies beyond.

The locomotive gathers speed and actually lifts off the ground, catching air above the terrain. The journey begins toward the so-called Promised Heavens, leaving the Earthly conflict behind.

From the air, the city and the fight for survival drift farther away, replaced by the uncertain path to an imagined paradise. The group clings to belief in the aliens, even as the truth remains elusive.

The escape is framed as a hopeful but ambiguous turning point. The fate of the 'blue snow' promise and the aliens is left unresolved, inviting reflection on faith and desperation.

With the train-turned-airship disappearing into the horizon, the film leaves the audience with a mix of hope and doubt about the future. It suggests that the quest for happiness may be as important as its destination, and that faith can endure even when certainty is gone.