Viktor Gordeev

Mikhail Ulyanov is the Bergmanesque protagonist of the Russian Private Life. A government-appointed factory executive, Ulyanov is reduced to quivering confusion when he is dismissed. Recovering from this blow, he decides to review and realign his life. In so doing, he discovers that there's plenty left in the world to make life worth living. Private Life was nominated for the "best foreign picture" Academy Award in 1983.

Four young ladies – Redhead, Blackie, May Lily and Irina, – earn a living very much in the style of 1990s Russia. The girls pick up horny rich men on the streets and lure poor fellas into their lair. Offering them alcohol and promising sex, they are just choosing the right moment to stifle and rob them. The girls have a faithful bodyguard Baban, who helps to keep their dirty deeds under cover. In turn the girls sometimes let Baban watch their lesbian orgies. Blackie’s little daughter is another full-fledged member of this “family” – the bodyguard Baban is her best friend, and sometimes she likes to peek at her mommy and friends having sex through a tiny hole in the wall. They all share one dream – to save up money, break away from the post-Soviet misery and spend next Christmas in Paris. –Obskura