First time director Alexey Mizgirev tackles the thorny subject of corruption in contemporary Moscow through the filter of a young man just arrived in the city. Anton arrives from the country fresh out of the military and with only an outdated sense of honor as currency. Moscow possesses a romantic glamour for Anton, and it is what drives him there in search of a childhood crush. When he is rejected, he joins the police force and starts to play the same corrupt game that beat him down. While the city itself looms large as a character, it’s never fully visualized, lending an air of mystery to Anton’s story. Mizgirev plays with standards of morality by making Anton equally brutal and heroic, and stemming from something far deeper than simple disappointment. His wish is one to simply be recognized, and to win over the idealized woman of the idealized city.