The film unfolds through a careful braid of memory and mission, beginning with a quiet, almost ceremonial delivery and expanding into a larger tale about loyalty, courage, and space-age dreams. The story opens with a man in a black cloak carrying a small cage from the Soviet Union toward the United States, bearing a gift from Nikita Khrushchev to Caroline Kennedy: a stray dog named Pushok. The courier reaches the Kennedy household, where Pushok’s story will be heard by the other pets, and the tale that follows is spun as a remembrance of events long past yet deeply connected to the present.
The narrative then shifts to Moscow in 1960, where a mysterious man begins quietly sweeping up dogs, taking them away from the streets. Among the dogs, a terrier mix named Strelka escapes capture and runs with her friend Lenny, a wily rat, into a larger drama. Strelka’s escape and the odd pair’s adventures set the stage for a series of unlikely companions who will converge around a life-changing project. Meanwhile, Venya the circus pig finds his own arc as he grows too large to fly in the rocket that is prepared in his stead, and Belka, a spirited Samoyed, takes the place he leaves behind. Belka’s misadventure leads to a crash that thrusts Lenny into a chance fortune at a payphone, while the dog trio—Strelka, Belka, and Lenny—are joined by three new stray dogs: Bula the French bulldog, Mula the pug, and Pirate the wolf. The next morning, after a tense night, the strange man captures all of them.
From this point, the film follows the dogs into the Soviet space program, where they are transported to Baikonur and placed in a training center. There they meet Kazbek, a German Shepherd who trains the dogs and ultimately must decide which two will fulfill the space mission. During the final weeks of preparation, a shift occurs: although Bula and Mula were initially chosen, the ultimate flight group becomes Lenny, Belka, and Strelka, with Belka and Strelka bound to fly alongside Lenny because of the order of selection. The tension between duty and desire runs through these moments, setting up a high-stakes ascent into orbit.
The voyage itself becomes a dramatic test of teamwork and resilience. At the flight’s end, Strelka longs to stay in space, her mother having told stories of Sirius—the father who lives among the stars. Kazbek, who has secretly stowed away on the mission, struggles to persuade Strelka to turn back. As the crew encounters what they first mistake for a fleet of space-dwelling companions, they discover the danger is actually a meteor shower. The rocket is damaged, and a desperate battle against a spreading fire ensues. In a decisive act, Belka drives the rocket through the danger, leaping to the driver’s seat to steer them home, while Strelka’s quick thinking helps extinguish the blaze. Kazbek’s confession of love to Belka adds a human warmth to the peril, and the trio ultimately looks on as constellations drift past and Strelka salutes Sirius, honoring the memory of her celestial father. Against all odds, the dog flight crew returns to Earth alive.
Back on the ground, Belka, Strelka, and Lenny are celebrated with a hero’s welcome. It is soon revealed that Kazbek had also stowed away on the flight, though the scientists insist that Soviet propaganda will not permit the truth of a stowaway to be publicly known. Meanwhile, the other Kennedy pets—led in part by the influential cat—are skeptical of Pushok’s tale. Only one dog recognizes the Cosmonaut Patch on Pushok’s cushion, prompting an earnest request for Pushok to recount what happened next. In the aftermath, Strelka returns to live with her mother, Venya continues to share his story with anyone who will listen, Belka returns to the circus as the star of the aerial program, and Kazbek begins a life with Belka. The film closes on a note of quiet, hopeful continuity, with archival footage of the real Soviet space program underscoring the blend of history and legend.
Throughout, the film remains grounded in memory and myth, drawing together the emotional stakes of animal companionship with the grand, aspirational sweep of space exploration, and it does so with a steady, clear narration that invites reflection on courage, loyalty, and the light that follows even the darkest of space-age trials.
The film features Elena Soboleva, Pavel Kozlov, Elena Makhova, and Egor Osipik.
