"The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!" is a romantic comedy set in the 1970's in an urban landscape in Soviet Russia. Parents need to know that it is not very suitable for children. Many characters drink a lot of alcohol and get drunk, some smoke. There are references to extramarital relationships. There is no sexually explicit content. However, you can see some kissing scenes and stuff like that. It is arguably one of the greatest works of director Eldar Ryazanov. The acting is also good. And the songs are the best, of course. Leonid Brezhnev, the leader of the Soviet Union, was a fan. He even referred to this movie in his report at the XXVI Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. But it is not a piece of soviet propaganda. On the contrary, this movie is like an anecdote from the Brezhnev era.

This movie is another great foreign film that would have escaped my attention except that a Russian friend had recommended it. It is a cult film in 1975 Soviet Russia centered around their big holiday, New Years Day. The acting is unusually good and the story plot is very believable. The movie is listed as a comedy and that gives away that the outcome is a happy one. How they get there is what makes this a great story. If you don't mind subtitles and listing to a foreign language this is a great movie. There is very limited violence which actually adds to the dilemma of the characters. There is no nudity or obscene language. I recommend this to anyone looking for a light comedy. [email protected]

I love this movie. I watch it every 31st December with my family, and when I'm feeling down, I will put it on (even in the Summer, despite the movie being about New Year's Eve) and it'll instantly make me feel better.The film, however, most probably, wouldn't be understood by the average foreigner. Let me explain..Zhenya and his friends have a tradition of going to the "banya" (like a public bathing place) as a tradition every 31st of December. The celebration of Zhenya's engagement leads to all four men getting completely drunk. The dilemma, however, is that one of these men has to fly to Leningrad to celebrate New Year's Eve with his wife. By mistake, they send Zhenya to Leningrad. Being completely blacked out, Zhenya does not remember the flight or him getting a taxi when already in Leningrad. Coinsidently, the street on which Zhenya lives in Moscow exists in Leningrad as well. Zhenya, barely able to walk, enters the apartment building and makes his way up onto the 4th floor and opens the door with his key, and, without hesitating, makes himself comfortable and falls asleep on what he thinks is his bed.A few minutes later, Nadya, a beautiful Russian woman, enters this same apartment - only it is really hers. Naturally, she is shocked to find a drunk stranger asleep on her bed. And her fiancé, who arrives shortly after, isn't thrilled to see drunk Zhenya either. The chemistry between Nadya and Zhenya grows as events begin to unravel...The average foreigner will probably ask - "How is it possible that the apartment building and the apartment itself is identical to the one in Moscow? How could he even open the door with his key?" In Soviet times, buildings were built almost identically. There was no individuality. Flats looked the same. The furniture was the same. And, by luck, the key matched perfectly as well, although not surprisingly.Anyway, this is a brilliantly funny, at times sad, film. It is a must see to anyone who is at least mildly interested in Russian people, culture or just the Russian way of life.

I have seen this movie several times while I lived in Europe. Loved it dearly. It's a comedy with a very deep human dimension reflecting on reality of Soviet life. Brings back some memories which, despite their ties to the Communist past, are a part of what corner of the world I come from. Can't deny your past!