The first private enterprises are started in the Soviet Union in the late 80s. A gang of bad guys, owners of a private restroom, kidnap a good guy - owner of a toy store. Private eye Dmitri's first job is to try and free the store owner.

The film covers the period from 1900 to 1917. Historical events—the Russo-Japanese War, January 9, and others—are shown through the eyes of a mother who begins to realize that her children have many like-minded followers, and thanks to this, she comes to believe in the feasibility of the ideals for which her eldest son sacrificed himself. Only the awareness that his cause is not hopeless, that it is achievable and close to victory, gives her the courage to endure separation from her loved ones and wandering.