Narrator John F. Romanoff sits in a "Brooklyn" apartment (a deliberately fake studio set) writing his Russian family's history, which is enacted onscreen, starting with his grandfather in pre-revolutionary times and through to his dad's adventures as a Communist, soldier and political prisoner (all three played by Dzintars Belogrudovs). Goofball picaresque tone darkens when villain Karpatch (Voldemars Karpacs) has a deaf-and-dumb character hanged during WWII. Surreal interludes - featuring, for instance, a ballerina chased through woods by butch girl soldiers - feel more "Monty Python" than Bulgakov in terms of satire.