Screen adaptation of the two-part play "Chekhov's Pages" staged by the Moscow Art Theater. M. Gorky based on one-act plays and stories by A.P. Chekhov: “Gimp”, “Lecture on the dangers of tobacco”, “Anniversary”, “Pecheneg”, “The Story of Mrs. N.N.”, “Swan Song”.

Two village boys - brothers Semyon and Pavel - serve a Moscow merchant-shopkeeper. They face harsh exploitation and hard forced labor. The brothers' life paths diverge. Unable to withstand the merchant's bullying, Pavel goes to the factory, becomes a worker, and later a professional revolutionary. Semyon remains in service. In the post-revolutionary period, Semyon, having been to the front and returning to the village, joined the kulaks, brutally dealt with representatives of the Soviet government, becoming the head of a gang of “badgers” hiding in the forests. A Red Army detachment led by Pavel is sent to fight the bandits...

Performance of the Gorky Moscow Art Theater based on the play by N. Pogodin.

Based on the story of the same name by A.P. Chekhov.