A band of Russian soldiers fight to hold a strategic building in their devastated city against a ruthless German army, and in the process become deeply connected to two Russian women who have been living there.
Viktor and Olga have long been living in a hateful marriage. They've finally paid off their mortgage and seem to enjoy life in their own apartment, but the neighbors on the side turn out to be too passionate for a new building with thin walls. One day, those same neighbors come to the couple with an offer to have sex together. Viktor and Olga refuse, then agree, refuse again - and the incident seems to be over, but a third couple has already arrived, constant "close friends" of the neighbors on the side.
After escaping the USSR in the 1980's, a Jewish family from Odessa struggles to remain on the right side of the law at their bathhouse in New York City.