A Fairy Tale for the Old 2022

Three years after the stash-keeper Evgeniy Tkachuk vanished with gang money, rumors spread that he’s alive and has been spotted in three distant cities: Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Rostov. The crime boss Batya dispatches his three “sons”—Senior, Middle, and Roman Mikhailov—to track him down and uncover the truth, no matter what it takes. In Novosibirsk, Senior earns a wary ally in a local Aleksey Inglevich, a dwarf with a sharp talent for locating people. Their pursuit threads through shuttered, snow-dusted streets, empty warehouses, and frozen wastelands, until they stumble into a party of revelers wearing elaborate costumes, hinting that nothing in this case will be straightforward.

In Saint Petersburg, Junior reconnects with an old acquaintance, only to find that the companions meant to help him are really after this friend. They chase a lead that points toward Mulya, and a guide ferries Junior by elevator to a place that feels almost otherworldly, where the rules of reality seem loose and sense is elusive.

Meanwhile, in Rostov, Middle is duped and left stranded in the forest. While seeking help, he comes across a procession of men transporting a coffin that contains a man who looks exactly like Mulya. They arrive at a wake hosted by Yakov the Stableman, who likewise bears a striking resemblance. Middle’s instinct tells him this must be Mulya, but the locals insist otherwise, deepening the mystery rather than solving it.

The following day, Middle and what is described as Yakov/Muliya set off to bring him to Batya, but their route is halted by a sudden, colorfully costumed procession. Desperate for answers, Middle slips into a nearby house through a heavy metal door and finds a quiet kitchen where Mulya, Batya, Senior, and Junior sit together, chatting as if winter were simply ending and spring were merely days away. They sip tea and reflect on the changing season, weaving an eerie calm over the chaos that preceded it. When Middle, overwhelmed by the absurdity and the surreal comfort around him, voices his confusion, Senior tells him to just accept what is happening and wish everyone a peaceful spring. The moment dissolves into shared laughter, and the film seals the journey with a sense of dreamlike closure.