Deeper! 2020

Roman Petrovich is a young theater director whose exacting standards for mastering the depth of each role cause him to miss crucial deadlines for a major production at the Main Theater of the Country, leaving him unemployed and facing an uncertain future.

To make ends meet, he takes on any job that comes his way and eventually substitutes for a friend as the director of a porn video, a gig far from his stage ambitions but one he approaches with the same seriousness he brings to classical plays.

With meticulous care, he guides the performances, pushing the porn actors to deliver convincing, powerful scenes. The porn actors Lera and Timur are directed to peak performances, and the filmed piece becomes a sensational hit that earns the studio owner multimillion-dollar profits and thrusts Roman into worldwide attention as a pioneer of a controversial new genre.

The astonishing success catches the eye of the President, who invites Roman to fix problems at the Main TV Channel, where the popular but fading presenter Vladimir is losing audience trust. Vladimir, once secure on the air, struggles to maintain his connection with viewers as pressures mount and tastes change.

Roman employs his deep, analytical approach to the role to reshape Vladimir’s on-screen persona, restoring his confidence, rebuilding audience trust, and lifting ratings. His backstage work at television translates into broader influence, shaping how audiences perceive news, culture, and entertainment.

Impressed by his results, the President, with the consent of the Minister of Culture, appoints Roman as the artistic director of the Main Theater of the Country, replacing the long-standing predecessor who had previously fired him. He leaves the porn studio with a mix of regret and resolve, armed with a new authority and mandate to reimagine the stage as a national cultural engine.

Armed with carte blanche from leadership and the bold, provocative sensibilities born from his porn-world experience, Roman sets out to transform the Main Theater into a powerhouse that fuses artistic ambition with the daring energy that powered his earlier success. He stages a play whose premiere draws the President and foreign dignitaries to a showcase that tests the boundaries between art, power, and spectacle.

In a dramatic, provocative finale, the final moments of the performance feature Lera and Timur on stage, their presence upending traditional expectations and provoking a new kind of applause from a captivated audience.