In a small provincial town in the 1960s, a local photo studio named Sovremennik struggles to hit its targets, and the mood among its staff is briefly bleak. The film opens with a short animated sequence about the history of photography and the pride photographers take in their craft, setting a thoughtful tone before the everyday grind takes over. The studio’s resourceful young photographer, Vladimir Oreshnikov, Evgeni Leonov, proposes a bold idea to lift productivity: have the team start taking self-portraits to boost morale and output. The plan earns quick buy-in, and Oreshnikov is appointed head of their mutual aid fund. Driven by a dream of becoming a true photo artist and snagging a coveted Zenit-6 camera, he sees the fund not just as a safety net but as a launchpad for luck.
Oreshnikov’s scheme quickly spirals into a test of nerve and luck. He borrows the fund’s entire 20 rubles, leaving a slim written note as a guarantee, and uses the money to buy a government bond through his fiancée, Olya, Valentina Telichkina, the cashing clerk at the local savings bank. The gambit is simple yet risky: can luck be coaxed into his orbit through a bond purchase, and will the plan translate into a brighter future for him and the studio?
Parallel strands deepen the social texture of life around the studio. Lidiya Sergeyevna, Irina Skobtseva, endures a home life strained by jealousy: her husband grows increasingly irritated with the long hours she keeps, ultimately leaving and taking all their furniture. Across the corridor, Alevtina Vasilyevna, Valentina Talyzina, who runs the studio’s union committee, longs for marriage but finds romance tangled in familial expectations. Her mother arranges a match with Ivan Stepanovich Kalachyov, a middle‑aged, blunt yet well‑off man, played by the studio’s own social fabric. Alevtina remains unimpressed, and her father, a retired military officer, ejects Ivan from the proceedings. Still, Ivan later recognizes Alevtina as his best option and visits the studio under the pretense of needing a photo, though their encounter is awkward and does not blossom into romance.
The plot reaches a tipping point when Oreshnikov’s bond wins a substantial 10,000 rubles in the lottery. The windfall inflates his sense of self and strains his relationship with Olya, ultimately driving them to break up. Meanwhile, Lidiya Sergeyevna invites him to celebrate, falsely claiming she has evicted her husband. He ends up at her home, accompanied by her estranged spouse, sparking a volatile confrontation that ultimately gives way to reconciliation. But Oreshnikov’s boosted vanity begins to alienate his colleagues, who accuse him of diverting communal funds for personal gain.
At a heated studio meeting, Ivan Stepanovich Kalachyov—Evgeniy Evstigneev—steps forward in defense of Oreshnikov only to side with the majority in the end. Oreshnikov is stripped of his role and the bond, left humiliated but not broken. Lidiya Sergeyevna, who has developed real feelings for him, confesses her love but is gently rejected, even as her attraction persists and she seduces him despite his misgivings.
As the New Year approaches, the two plot a cheeky, if double-edged, revenge against their colleagues. Disguised as Santa Claus and a skier, they stage a playful heist: they steal the money, then return it, keeping only what is rightfully theirs. Oreshnikov uses his share to buy Olya a fur coat, a peace offering that softens the rift though the future remains uncertain. Alevtina, meanwhile, marries Ivan Stepanovich, though his tastes and temper keep their union lively and financially tested. In the end, Oreshnikov maintains his hopeful spirit, investing in another lottery bond in the belief that luck will strike again in a zigzag pattern. The film closes on a note of quiet resilience: the quirky staff of the photo studio look toward new beginnings, aware that life’s outcomes are never guaranteed but always worth pursuing with a stubborn, cheerful persistence.
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