Denunciation became so commonplace under Stalin that people regarded it
as their patriotic duty to spy on others and even expose members of
their own family. The original Bolsheviks, for reasons of ideological
purity, put great store in transparency. But under Stalin, transparency
evolved into a state of constant surveillance. In the late 1930s, a
young man named Sasha Parsky kills two soldiers who come to arrest his
parents as kulaks. He escapes arrest--though not suspicion. Sasha, now
under greater scrutiny, is asked by Boris Filatov, the chief of the
local secret police, to take a position as the head of a small boys'
school with the condition that Sasha spy on the previous director, who
was dismissed for political reasons. As Sasha's visits to the exiled man
turn into discussions on politics and Sasha begins making changes at the
school, it is only a matter of time before anonymous letters denouncing
him begin to appear on Filatov's desk. But even more ominous is the
appearance of two men from the past who have the knowledge to do Sasha
great harm. Caught between Filatov and the fear of exposure, Sasha risks
everything by testing the fidelity of a loved one.
