Against all odds, one of them reaches its destination, upon the desk of the newly appointed local prosecutor, Alexander Kornyev (Alexander Kuznetsov). Kornyev does his utmost to meet the prisoner, a victim of corrupt agents of the secret police, the NKVD. A dedicated Bolshevik of integrity, the young prosecutor suspects foul play. His quest for justice will take him all the way to the office of the Attorney General in Moscow.

Premiering in competition at Cannes, and based on the suppressed story of gulag survivor Georgy Demidov, the film is both darkly humourous and deeply disturbing in its exploration of the absurdities of totalitarianism and the lengths the establishment will go to in order to protect the status quo.