Original subtitles

What's up?

Look, we had to cut the fish net.

Holy crap! That's how you ended up.

Yes.

You old swiller!

- Take him ashore, I'll call for transport. - Come on.

Take him by the legs.

That's it.

Let's go.

Leonid Bichevin

Alexander Bukharov

Maria Andreeva

SILENCE

"I turned thirty-five

in May 1947.

Ex-combat correspondent, aspiring writer.

After the war I didn't quite understand who I was.

Friends thought it all came easy to me.

Women were sure it was because of drinking.

All of them stopped believing I could still do something".

"I was turning into a guy whose brilliant future was left behind".

I spend lots of money and what?

Ganin, confess now before everybody.

There was no manuscript, right?

Wrong.

You're kidding. And what was there?

It's a matter of no interest.

- We are all interested. - Come on! We're interested.

Stop troubling him, let's drink.

- Okay. - Alexander!

We drink to you. And to youthful ardour for next 35 years.

- And to life without war. - That's right.

Are you really a journalist or a writer?

Ekaterina...

Ekaterina!

Wait!

- Wait! Let me see you off. - There's no need, Ganin.

"I got a letter that day.

My father Alexander Ganin

died at the age of 68

of acute heart failure.

He lived in Ostrovnoe village near Vyborg.

Nothing kept me in Leningrad.

And I thought: why not go there".

Did you send me?

I did not know he had a son.

Svetlana.

Alexander.

I was cleaning up.

I noticed that.

He was staying in the sea for about 3 days.

Then fishermen discovered his body.

a militiaman?

Hasn't your mother told you about him?

I know he was

a horny devil, that's all.

He was really like that.

When he was sober.

Thanks god, it happened not so often.

That's it.

If you feel bored

or need something...

I work at the tailorshop.

Down the street, there's a big sign.

You won't miss it.

Yes.

And take care,

dear.

"My trip wasn't just an escape.

I was hoping to work hard

far away from the capital, out in the sticks here.

During the war I went to the fronts,

apart from the articles I wrote a diary.

I thought it could become something more than that.

I was not going to write about the war.

(AMONG THE LIVING) I am not a person

who beats breasts and recalls how it was.

I wanted to write about the people I met.

About every day of their life.

I could never get

the routine and the coordination within the chaos".

Buddy, it's the wrong door.

Hell, what's that?

Come on. Quiet!

Wait a bit.

Hell!

Help!

A man is wounded.

Hell!

Open!

Open!

A man is wounded, he needs help! I need a telephone.

Hey, someone!

A man is wounded!

I need a telephone!

Damn!

Open, please.

I need a telephone, a man is wounded. He needs help.

Hoots!

Hello, militia?

Petr Andreevich.

I brought a hooligan. There was a call.

- Ganin, he says. - Ganin?

- Did he tell you that? - Yes, he told me that.

Who are you?

I have a wounded man in my flat.

Yes?

- Any documents? - They are in the flat.

Will you send someone there?

Let's go.

Unpack him.

You're welcome. Come in.

He was here.

- Where did he go? - I don't know.

Did he go away?

I didn't see you at the funeral.

If I were informed earlier, I might have come in time.

And what's that?

This is my work.

Work? Are you a writer?

Did you drink?

Does it look like wine?

My wife is pregnant,

I've got three kids

and I don't sleep for days.

Do you think I'm eager to learn what kind of shit is there on your shirt?

I asked the neighbours, noone saw anything.

Find out, where this writer emerged from.

Good afternoon, Svetlana.

Why did you tell me to take care yesterday?

There're lots of strangers in town.

Someone comes, someone goes. You never know who is who.

Last night a wounded guy rushed into my flat.

While I was searching for help, he dissappeared.

The militia think I made him up.

What kind of guy?

Around thirty, slim, I had no tme to see him well.

Don't you think it was just imagination?

He scratched the letter "L" on the floor.

- What does it mean? - The name.

- Whose name? - Probably the name of the assailant.

I don't know anyone called "L".

But you do know something.

Do you know what happens to those who chat a lot?

They're found at the sea.

As my father?

The letter you gave me said he had cardiac pills with him.

Allegedly, he failed to take them.

Well, your father was as strong as a bull.

For him doctors were charlatans.

Who are you?

Anna.

My flat is next to yours. And you're the major's son.

The walls're thin here.

Whose things are these?

They belonged to people that lived here before.

They all

went away.

Now they're like ghosts.

Well.

If you heard me, you must have heard my father as well.

Yes.

Lately, did he behave in a strange way or did he get menaced?

He didn't sleep.

He walked to and fro the room the whole night,

drinking and swearing.

At whom?

He saw someone.

Whom?

Well, I know for sure he was alone at the flat.

By the morning he usually got terribly drunk.

Did anyone visit him?

That woman.

Svetlana?

And another one.

Which one?

Beautiful one.

Some days before your father dissappeared, he went to Paltsevo.

To some hospital, it's in the suburb.

He works here at night, walks around the territory.

- Isn't he a patient? - No, he works here, for a long time already.

Here. Andrey, you have a visitor.

Good afternoon, Alexander Ganin.

You knew my father.

He died of a heart attack.

The letter said so.

My father'd come here before he died

and the nurse said he visited you.

What for?

He thought I could identify a man.

It was in 1941.

When the battles were near Vyborg already,

it was clear the town would surrender.

Street riots began.

We, the graduates of militia school, were sent to evacuate the archive.

Someone locked the door from the outside and set fire.

13 people among paper boxes were perfect fuel.

The windows were barred and those bastards poured petrol from the street.

Then help came

and one of them was killed at the spot,

two others managed to escape.

I would have died there,

but major saw I was moving.

Why did he come here?

Major promised to find those who had done it.

During the war I never heard of him.

The hospital was moved from town to town.

They didn't send me to the front, but I helped here.

I did what I could.

After the war the hospital moved back here.

Major appeared again,

safe and sound and works at the militia once again.

A month ago he came and said he met a man at the seaside.

He thought he saw him near the archive.

Back in 1941. He showed photos.

Have you recognized anyone?

No, I was being baked inside.

What kind of photo was it?

Fishermen at the port. Ten or eleven.

An old picture.

Storm will bring more garbage.

I'll gather it as well.

Senseless.

Do you know where's the sense?

I adore the sea.

And fire as well.

You're not local, are you?

- I haven't seen you here before. - I came not so long ago.

Business trip?

- Where are you from? - From Leningrad.

How do you find our town?

Too many ghosts.

Sorry. Alexander Ganin.

Ganin?

Major was your father, right?

- Did you know him? - Comrade Ganin!

Comrade Ganin, captain ordered to bring you.

All right.

Stab and slash wound in the stomach.

The cause of death is vast blood loss.

- Where did you find him? - At the seashore.

The body was thrown into the water.

You said you didn't know him.

- Right. - Really? Why did you let him in?

He knocked on the door.

Did he say something?

No, he just collapsed on me, that's all.

Though he said "pass".

Pass what?

I don't know. That's all.

Vadim Statsenko.

Your father got him while he was stealing, then he let him go.

In return, he became his intelligencer at the port.

He dissappeared more than 2 weeks ago.

It means, when my father died.

Petr Andreevich, a widow with a child.

I told him not to mess into that.

Why did major need him?

A man appeared in the Old town.

He was to learn where he lived, whom he contacted.

Why?

They were discussing some old case.

The arson at the archive.

When 12 graduates of militia school died in the fire.

There were 3 arsonists.

One was killed at the spot, two others vanished.

Father visited the only survivor shortly before death.

He said he met one of the arsonists.

Yes, Vadim told me it was necessary to pry out the information about the third one.

In the morning when major dissappeared,

Vadim hastily gathered up saying everyting went wrong

and he had to hide for some time.

And what about the guy in the Old town? His name?

I don't know.

Who are you?

I thought nobody was here.

The door was locked.

I have a key.

Who gave it to you?

An acquaintance.

Well, more than just an acquaintance. And who are you? A militia man?

Yes, it normal for us to shower at the flat of the deceased one.

No, I'm the son of your acquaintance.

What were you looking for?

My ring, I thought I might have left it here.

Sorry, I think I left my ring somewhere else. I better go now.

- Why did you really come? - I told you already.

At night, with a lamp, and you want me to believe you.

- I will cry now. - Cry, noone comes.

I tried.

Last night a man vanished here.

- And tonight you come looking for something. - You don't think I took him away, do you?

Yes, I was involved with your father.

I came at night, cause during the day some starched blonde creeps around here.

That man

scratched a letter here

meanwhile I was out.

Any ideas of what it may mean?

At once, it's clear you're not local.

Your father made friends with the right people at the port.

He turned the blind eye on everything going there.

In return, major got limitless booze at the pub.

Contraband?

"L".

This surname is well-known to all the locals.

Comrade Lavrentiev, Chief Security of the port.

Here's my ring. All the best, sorry.

Good morning.

You lied to me.

I think you know who's L.

- Was my father linked to smugglers? - Hush!

They say the day he dissappeared he was seen at the port.

He fought at the beer bar with the wrong guy.

Why did he fight?

- You wil not go to the port, will you? - Why not go there?

I will feel pity if they find you at the sea,

pretty boy.

PORT ADMINISTRATION

Old fox. He never said he had a son.

- Will you stay for a long time? - I haven't decided yet.

If you need something, don't hesitate, come to me.

We were like family with your father.

Maybe, you need a job?

I will find work for you at security service.

Our port is strategically important.

Next to the border. You got it, right?

They say, you asked about your father.

Yes, before he died

there was a fight at the beer bar.

- Who told you that? - It doesn't matter.

He didn't like the taste of the port wine.

Well, your father was losing himself to drinking.

I ordered to dilute it, he didn't like that.

Of course, he went mad and started to smash everything down.

I'm the Chief Security of the port, I need to provide security for the people.

It was hard to stop him when he blew up.

Do you know anything about the fire at the archive in 1941?

There were lots of fires then.

Father had special interest in the archive.

Lately.

Yes, that was a real tragedy.

Bodies were taken to the square. Even a priest came.

Father was looking for the guilty ones till the very last day.

- Has he found them? - Yes, I think so.

- Who are they? - I don't know.

Sadly, he died without saying, and it's weird.

A question:

did he die on his own

or did someone wanted him to shut up?

Cardiac medication coupled with alcohol, this was my version.

Father did not take any pills at all.

He might have lost it.

Well, I thought about that.

But the night before he dissappeared he fought with the Chief Security.

He didn't like the taste of the port wine.

And then, overdose of digoxin may cause cardiac insufficiency.

Did you think about poisoning?

Your father stayed at the sea for 3 days.

He had pulmonary edema, I thought it was the result of drowning.

Well, theoretically

digoxin overdose could cause edema as well.

Then its traces should have stayed in the kidneys.

We...

We will not exhumate the body, will we?

We made inquiries.

You turned to be a celebrity.

- Why come here, to us? - It's a long story.

I was dating a skirt and her husband was the army general.

- Didn't you know? - I did.

Nowadays no editor wants to deal with me.

I thought you were into ideology.

Sergey even suggested to give you a good shake.

Come on.

Poisoning.

I don't know how I missed it.

Hell!

Ask the military for reinforcement.

- Captain! - Let's go.

Turn everything upside down, for hell's sake!

We're looking for pills, the bottle, the ware

and the one who threw it away or saw it.

It is clear? We must find something.

Do not let anyone out of the port.

What are you doing, captain? You swooped like vultures.

We are a Soviet organization, we fulfill the plans.

- I will complain! - You may complain, citizen Lysenko.

And by the way tell what your right hand is doing.

It'll be interesting for me as well. But you won't tell anybody.

Otherwise this hand shoves a ham sandwich down your throat.

And if you don't shut up, you'll float to the Finnish shore with your belly up.

Take out!

Open!

Well, we take these.

Captain, what's going on?

Any reason for this search?

The murder of a militia man is a crime in this country.

Is it clear?

Load them up!

Tell you people to clear the way!

I'm not their master.

Captain, you were wrong to start it all.

Who knows what these people keep under the jackets.

What if shooting begins? Lots of blood will be spilled.

I found something here at the beer pub.

Do you know if these guys will save their skin or yours?

And what will they tell you besides the major left on Shank's mare?

Comrades, will we let the cars go?

- Whom did my father point at? - I told you already I saw noone.

Why do you come - first your father, then you?

Do you think it's pleasant for me to remember that?

- We can catch them! - Your father said that, and where is he now?

- Go away! - No!

Go away I said!

Other servicemen died, they deserve the murderers to be punished.

What are you afraid of? That they kill you?

Come on, do it!

No, you won't do it!

Cause sitting in this hole is just fakery.

Go away!

And if not?

What's happening?

Andrey,

calm down.

I know, when close ones die and you can't change anything.

But you can!

Whom did my father point at? Whom?

Please, go away.

Go away.

Stop.

This is Nikolay Gromov your father was looking for.

Born in 1911 in Viipuri.

His family owned 2 schooners.

I found these photos

in the desk gathering up the things of the major.

He had a whole archive of pre-war Vyborg there.

And this one was shot then.

- And this... - Is the third one.

I know her.

Lidia.

She came for the ring.

Stay in the car.

One below the windows.

Up!

Comrade Ganin, you're not allowed to enter here.

I go there.

You may pass.

Quiet!

Where is he?

Citizen, stop! Petr!

Comrade!

Alive?

- Don't shoot, I'll tear your heads off! - Don't shoot!

Don't shoot, lads!

Who?

Freeze!

Gun down.

I'll finish you.

You'll rot behind the bars, bastard!

Take him!

- Did he get to the belly? - No, just the hand.

The dead might have pointed at Lavrentiev, he would have spoken then.

This May he came back, out of the blue.

He said he was taken captive during the war

and ran away.

He was hiding with the locals.

He worked somewhere.

Tried to keep out of sight of the militaty, fearing the prison.

He thought they won't believe and consider him deserter.

- Did he use these documents? - Yes, he did.

Are they fake?

He came for me.

We decided to move to Finland as we'd wanted before the war.

A guy promised to make Finnish passports for us.

Nikolay never left this house, he was hiding.

Once I came home

and besides Nikolay I saw your father here.

He was drunk already, he spoke of the arson at the archive,

of the fight at the port.

Major had his handgun on the table.

He said Nikolay was murderer and arsonist.

He was going to take him to the criminal investigation department.

You had to choose just one of them.

I offered wine to your father.

He drank and didn't feel anything.

Nikolay got rid of the body.

Then the guy to make Finnish pasports turned to be working for your father.

He was his intelligencer, Nikolay didn't know that.

After that night

Nikolay tracked this intelligencer down.

He thought he killed him, but he ran away.

You were lucky to go away - he would have killed you as well.

He had nothing to lose.

After all, you made it to your father's funeral.

What will happen to him?

The criminal offered resistance and was shot by the servicemen.

GANIN A.V.

I thought you went away.

I decided to stay for a while.

This is Ivan, my brother.

- Hello! - Hi!

And why did you think I was to go away?

I don't know.

They think something bad happens to them.

Your father was a friend of mine, that's all.

What do you plan to do?

I don't know.

My name is Larisa.

Nice to meet you.

Stop!

Don't you scream!

Don't you scream!

It's a pity the old man finished like that.

We all loved him.

It seemed

he'd forever sit at the beer bar, boring us with his stories.

Every death like this is a part of your life passing away.

Did you ever think about it?

Take it.

He knew how to choose women.

Sadly, I can't trust you.

Why?

You chatter too much, dear.

I didn't say

anything to anyone.

I swear.

This is a very small town.

"I found my articles at my father's old drawers.

There were the first ones, I wrote as a student,

and post-war articles as well.

It turned out father cut them out and kept them.

He never tried to find me or contact me.

Still, some kind of a thread was stretching out through all these years.

And now here I am, at his home.

Our home.

Maybe, this is the place for me.

Who knows.

So this is how this town accepted me.

I had no job, no money.

But I got the feeling life was getting better once again".