About the film
Every 31 December Zhenya Lukashin goes to the banya with his friends. This year he is about to propose to his girlfriend, so the friends celebrate a little too much. One of them is flying to Leningrad, and in the confusion Zhenya is put on the plane instead.
In Leningrad he gives a taxi driver his address: Third Builders' Street, house 25, flat 12. The same street exists in every Soviet city, the building is the same standard block, and even his key fits. He goes to sleep, and is woken by Nadya, the woman who actually lives there, just before her own fiancé arrives.
What follows is one long, funny and very tender New Year's night. Ryazanov's film is shown on Russian television every New Year's Eve and is, for millions of people, as much a part of the holiday as the tree.
Did you know?
- It was first shown on Soviet television on 1 January 1976 and has been repeated almost every New Year since.
- Polish actress Barbara Brylska was dubbed by Valentina Talyzina, and her songs were sung by Alla Pugacheva.
- The songs set poems by Marina Tsvetaeva, Boris Pasternak and Bella Akhmadulina to music by Mikael Tariverdiev.
