The action takes place in a little town in Poland close to the border with Belarus. The Soviets tried for a long time to persuade their citizens and others that Soviet = Russian. This has been believed to some extent in the neighboring countries - what makes the life of the main heroine Marusia more difficult; some people in Poland call her "Russian". Highway bandits have robbed her money, but Marusia gets help from an unexpected ad hoc conglomerate: a local Catholic priest (admirable monologues which are actually prayers to St. Mary asking for guidance), a local police chief (subject to human weaknesses but brave when it really counts) and a young organist. The priest has an agenda of his own but he does not announce it aloud, not even in his prayers to St. Mary.
Ira Laczina received a prize for her role as Marusia at the Gdynia Film Festival.
Ira Laczina received a prize for her role as Marusia at the Gdynia Film Festival.