This movie makes a strange impression. For that time, it was undoubtedly relevant, and today even causes irritation with flat heroes, inanimate relationships.
I was surprised at the beginning of the movie. Mom is waiting for a grown-up son for the new year, and here he came, mom seems happy, looks at him through the eyes of a woman in love (even somehow strange), but still begins to stain his brains from the threshold (mother is very positive). I had the impression that that was why she was waiting for him to express her appreciation of his life. Begins incomprehensible reproaches ... she is not satisfied that he quit his job (previously encouraged to have one entry in the workbook, and those who changed jobs, contemptuously called flyers) and wants to get a new job to live a more comfortable life. Mom is simply shocked that the son craves comfort, she herself lived in very bad conditions (which is incredibly proud), why should her son live in conditions much better.
Later, the hero of Smoktunovsky gets married and soon wants to divorce, because he realized that he does not love. Mother begins to get into his life again - there is not only love, but also duty. Gennady reasonably retorted about the debt. And his statements about debts immediately show the viewer what a terrible egoist this Gennady. After all, the meaning of life of a Soviet citizen is to work at an unloved, preferably hard work, live in uncomfortable conditions, and live with an unloved wife. Then life was definitely a success. This, apparently, is the main goal of the real man, and everything else from the evil one (more precisely from the bourgeois). Well, as usual, Gene still gets stuck in a bad story, because the thirst for well-being does not bring good.
It's clear that apart from Gene's story, there are other people's stories out there, but his story hooked me the most. Today it looks incredibly ridiculous.
I think that this film product can be watched only to understand the ideals that were cultivated in the USSR at that time, and to be glad that those days are over.
To be honest, I barely watched the movie. But I would like to note that there are many attractive female faces. At least it's nice to see beautiful women.