After a 12 year absence, an errant father returns to his two sons, Andrey and Ivan, without explanation or apology. Both mesmerised and perturbed by the return of this Christ-like figure, a family fishing trip reveals the chasm between the adolescent boys and their no-nonsense father. Shot through beautiful, watercolour tones and steeped in quasi-religious symbolism, Zvyagintsev’s hard-edged debut unfolds as a complex portrayal of male relationships set against a barren, decaying Earth.