The film is set in a village somewhere in the
Ryazan Governorate in Russia. It opens in Spring, 1914, just before the outbreak of the
First World War. The well-to-do farmer Vasilii Shironin has a daughter, Vasilisa, and a son, Ivan. While Ivan's love towards Anna was by luck also Vasilii's choice for his bride, Vasilisa's love towards Nicolai was strongly opposed by Vasilii. Before the general mobilization in Russia, Ivan is married to Anna while Vasilisa leaves home to start her family with Nicolai without the formal marriage. Vasilisa and Nicolai openly defy the conservative villagers' gossiping. When the war breaks out in the summer, both Ivan and Nicolai were drafted. Meanwhile, Vasilii rapes Anna after getting drunk, and a child is born during Ivan's absence. After the war, Nicolai comes back to the village while Ivan remains missing. Now we are in the post
revolutionary era, when Vasilisa's standing is drastically improved. Her plan for an orphanage is approved by the mayor and a deserted mansion is assigned to her for that purpose. When Ivan's letter finally arrives, we learn that he has been a prisoner of war and will return home soon. Upon seeing Anna with a child, he is devastated and does nothing to soothe her, who in desperation jumps into the river and kills herself. When her body is brought back to the farm, Visilisa tells Ivan to ask his father about the real cause of this incident. She then carries the child away to her orphanage. ==Cast==