Tobacco 1962

Boris Morev, [Yordan Matev], Pavel Morev, [Ivan Kasabov], and Stefan [Stefan Petrov] are the sons of a poor Latin teacher in the Bulgarian countryside. Boris is ambitious and dreams of money and power, while his younger brothers align with the Communist cause and the party. Boris meets Irina [Nevena Kokanova] at a grape harvest and falls in love with her, while Pavel falls for her friend Lila [Miroslava Stoyanova], who is also a member of the Communist Party. Irina’s father is a senior guard from the district administration.

When Irina leaves the countryside to study medicine in Sofia, Boris marries Maria [Tzvetana Ostrovska], the daughter of the owner of the Nicotiana tobacco factory. After Maria’s father dies, Boris inherits the factory and becomes rich. However, his wife’s health deteriorates; she is mentally ill and cannot recognise the people around her. Irina and Boris become lovers, and after Maria’s death, they marry. Shortly before that, Irina’s father is killed during a strike at the factory.

Boris makes deals with German entrepreneurs, while Sofia is bombed by the Allies, and Irina becomes increasingly aware of his true nature. World War II is coming to an end, and Boris plans a big deal with a Greek merchant. Its success depends on von Geir, the general director of a German tobacco concern, [Wolfgang Langhoff]. Boris asks Irina to seduce him. Attracted by Nietzschean philosophy and von Geir’s aristocracy, Irina becomes his lover. The three go to Greece where Boris arranges the biggest deal of his life. Exhausted by alcohol, he contracts malaria and dies.

As the English army advances, the partisans go into open combat actions. On 9 September 1944, Irina buries Boris in the place where they first met. A shot rings out.