they said would give you
an inferiority complex.
I felt something like that.
Though, I do think that in a family
the man should be superior.
When the woman has a larger salary
or a position of superiority,
the marriage can't work.
- Are you serious?
- Absolutely.
I've seen enough of this already.
How much are you making?
Don't worry, I earn much more
than your mother does.
We should be prepared, for
however strong may be the blizzards,
Their bondage is bound
to come to an end!
So allow me, Miss,
to offer my hand
For a dance at this
New Year Ball of the Wizards.
The moon is a sphere
with a candle inside,
The carnival figures
around us bend.
A waltz has begun,
so give me your hand
And go left-right,
left-right, left-right!
Andrei, how's this?
- Is it all right?
- It's fine.
Don't worry, our director
is always on time.
- How do you do?
- How do you do?
I'll be ready in two minutes.
We can start when you want to.
Excuse me, but haven't we met before?
Have I ever filmed you here?
No, I think you're wrong.
Have you ever spent
your vacations at Sochi?
Most people have spent a vacation
at Sochi sometime.
I forgot to introduce myself.
My name is Rodion Rachkov.
It's a name you hardly hear
in Russia these days.
Yes, when I was young,
foreign names were more common.
Edward, Robert, Rudolph...
The French delegation just called.
They'll be here in half an hour.
Thank you.
Katerina?
Have I changed all that much?
No. It's just I'm surprised...
So many years have passed...
I never thought you'd become
a director.
I've only been a director
for three months.
Shall we begin?
I'm really very busy.
All right, sure.
We're ready to go here.
Go ahead, please.
Good afternoon, ladies and
gentlemen!
The men in the audience are free
to do whatever they want to.
Our products are primarily
of interest to women.
When I think of what
I might've missed,
if I had decided to sleep over
at Tonia's that night.
Or if I had taken another train.
I was thinking the same thing.
How come you never did get
married?
I was waiting for you.
But there was a man in your life?
Once...
But now it seems like it happened
to someone else.
Are there any snapshots of you
as a kid?
Yeah, a couple.
You must've been funny looking.
- You must show them to me later.
- Okay.
- I warn you, I snore.
- So what?
I'll whisper in your ear "shsh"
and you'll be quiet.
There's another thing.
I can't stop tossing and turning.
I'll take you in my arms
to make you stop.
Good idea, let's try.
Oh, my God! I didn't see
what time it was!
Alexandra'll be home any minute!
So early?
Put the sheets in the closet!
The pillows, too.
- There're glasses in there.
- Put them in the bottom drawer.
Who was the idiot
who invented this contraption?
Why are you sitting in the dark?
Cause we're watching television.
Hello.
So what? Would you please
stop bothering me!
No! I have no desire to meet you.
She's not your daughter.
Born at the end of July, yes.
You've been counting.
May I come in?
All right. We can meet
on Gogol Boulevard at 17:45.
But not more than 15 minutes.
I'm really very busy.
- Hello.
- How are you?
You're alone, not with your mother?
My mother died eight years ago.
I'm sorry.
Now what do you want?
I want to see my daughter.
What for? You've been getting along
without her until now.
Until now I didn't know
she existed.
You didn't want to know you mean?
You were never so cruel before.
And guess who taught me that?
As for me, I feel as if
a new life has started
now that I know
I have a daughter.
A grown-up daughter to boot.
You don't have to look after her
staying up at night,
to walk her to school...
If I'm guilty of hurting you,
I've been punished enough, so
there's no need to do it.
Yes, I've led a useless life
all right.
I've always pretended
it was just a rehearsal,
that real life still lay
ahead.
I've been married twice.
My first wife ran out