Katya and Pasha are a Moscow student couple in their early twenties. They don't care about politics or authorities. They aren't really rebellious, they just want to be left alone and have fun. One day they come to a punk concert at a small club, but two rogue policemen stop the show in the middle of it - there are no formal grounds to do that, but the policemen just enjoy their power. Katya tries to reason with one of the officers, but he reacts in a brutal way, and Pasha has to defend her. Katya and Pasha escape and they hope they're safe. But in Russia, you shouldn't mess with the police, and next morning, the young people learn that they are in trouble. Their only way out is to pay the policemen off, and they embark on a mission of getting the cash - borrowing, begging, doing whatever they can. And they only have several hours to come up with the cash.

The film reconstructs in Berlin a scene in front of the German consulate in Moscow, using a single and continuous camera shot, with no cuts. Russian immigrants are standing and waiting to get a visa; there's a different gate for each travel reason. Help and assistance is being offered in front of the entrances. A woman walks by the waiting line and is withheld: Her bag is too big and must be handed in. She looks for a place where she can leave it.