 In Moscow, veterans of the Afghanistan war live on the margin. Their leader is Andrei, their former sergeant, blind from drinking wood alcohol there, and attended in a wheelchair by his younger sister, Lena. Andrei and his pals have a black-market stall, paying off both the city s Mafia (Oblov comes by regularly to collect) and the cops. The cops are looking for a subway slasher; Andrei is in love with Oriolo, a stylish African; unbeknownst to Andrei, Oriolo is saving to leave for Paris; and, Lena wants to protect her brother. When new cops trash their stall, Andrei loses control of his gang; Oblov makes off with Oriolo, and the subway becomes the scene of a final showdown.