Original subtitles

[NO AUDIO]

[THEME MUSIC]

Love in Chains

No! Let go!

You won’t tell anyone!

Will you kill me as you killed her?

Andrey!

What’s going on?

I will explain.

Liubov Vasilyevna, I’ll see you tomorrow at the office.

I am ready to accept your proposal.

So the establishment is entirely mine, isn’t it?

And you won’t go back on it and won’t get it out on me.

We’ll discuss the details tomorrow. You can trust my word. Please.

Of course. I’ll be there at noon. Goodbye.

Liubov Vasilyevna, wait! I demand an explanation.

Why did you say, “You will kill me like you killed her”?

Who did you mean? You were talking about Vera Gnatkevich, weren’t you?

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

I don’t even know what--

I will tell you everything myself. Just because you saw--

No, Andrey! I don’t believe your words anymore.

I want to hear what Liubov Vasilyevna has to say.

I will help you.

It started when Andrey asked you to give him a room,

where he was going to compromise the woman he had once loved

with the help of Yevgeniy Antonovich Bezus.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

[NO DIALOG]

Maybe you could stay at home.

They can do without you for a single day, can’t they?

I can’t, darling.

I am supposed to get my assignment today.

But you will be back soon. You won’t have time to miss me.

I will.

I start missing you horribly even before you are out of the door.

[LYRICAL MUSIC]

What is this? A gift?

Even if it is, it’s not from me.

A courier brought it and said it was for your eyes only.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

What is it?

It really is a gift. It belonged to my father.

When I was a young girl, I stole it and gifted it to my father’s bondman.

Now he is returning it.

A knife?

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

- I love you. - I love you, too.

I’ll be back soon.

See you tonight.

After everything that happened, I don’t feel I have the right to keep it.

I return your gift and give you my word not to bother you again.

Just remember this: in any complicated situation,

even if your guarding angel turns away from you, I will be there for you.

Andrey Zhadan.

Well? Are we stuck?

No, don’t say that. I need to take a look. I think I can repair it.

Let me think about, sir. You can just walk around for a while.

I don’t think you can find another cab here.

I don’t want to walk around. Tell me what I can do for you.

If you mean it… Hold this.

I also know for a fact that it was you who made the daguerreotype.

So, Liubov Vasilyevna, don’t try to give me a version preferred by my husband.

Just tell me what happened, starting for the beginning.

- Katia. - No, Andrey!

I don’t want to hear anything from you. Not now.

Mrs. Makarova, you have been silent for too long.

It’s time to dot the I’s in this story.

Yes, maybe I kept it all secret for too long.

- Liuba, don’t you dare speak. - Or what, Andrey?

- Katia. - Don’t you dare touch me.

Go on, tell me.

I met Andrey Andreyevich almost 15 years ago.

When I saw this very young,

but very confident man with the all-powerful Gromyko,

somehow I realized at once that fate was favoring him.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

It didn’t work the first time over. We’ll need to work on it a bit longer.

How much longer? We’ve been at it for a quarter of an hour.

I’m sorry, sir. It’s mechanical. What can I do?

“Mechanical”!

Walking will be faster. Here.

Bye.

Five years later, when Andrey took Gromyko’s place,

I had good reasons to believe him to be my friend.

I thought the feeling was mutual.

Also, our salon was special for him.

It was his first, after all.

From time to time, the need would arise for him to meet with someone in private.

I didn’t ask question and was always ready to help.

Did I hear it correctly? Is it for you personally?

KIEV. MAKAROVA’S BROTHEL. 10 YEARS AGO

I want see everything that is going on there, but the lady can’t know.

- Can it be arranged? - Yes, of course it can.

There is something else.

I need you to make a daguerreotype.

Of the girl and her vis-a-vis?

A man will come tomorrow to bring the camera and show you how to use it.

Do you want me to do it?

Yes, you and no one else.

Well, if you believe the lady and her partner will not object.

Liubov Vasilyevna, hello.

Andrey Andreyevich, what was that urgent business?

Nothing illegal, I hope.

But if it will be generously reimbursed, to hell with the law!

Vera was very punctual, and she was also very beautiful.

I saw it as soon as she came through the door of our salon.

Good day. I have a meeting here.

Mrs. Gnatkevich.

Yes, they are expecting you. Please follow me.

Excuse me, what is this place?

You don’t want to know. Think of it as a hotel.

Is it a brothel?

Yes.

I thought she would turn around and go that same minute, but no.

She only lifted her head and asked which way she was to go.

I had no doubts left that she would agree

to make that indecent picture for the sake of her husband.

We had to make two takes.

The lady obviously wasn’t comfortable with suffering Mr. Bezus’s attentions.

Nothing bad is going to happen.

Admit it, it’s even pleasant.

I am sorry but we’ll have to do it again. Freeze and don’t move.

I understand why you felt sorry for her. I saw the daguerreotype.

How? I burned both copies!

No, you didn’t.

It was Nastia who brought you the package with the daguerreotypes, wasn’t it?

- May I? - Come in, little bird.

Before entering your office, she looked inside the package,

saw who was in the daguerreotype, and understood everything.

Your girls had been discussing the murder long after it happened.

She took one copy and put it into her purse.

You were so distracted with the news she brought you

that you threw the package into the fire without looking inside.

I am with a child, Liubov Vasilyevna.

Tough luck.

And you have no way to know whose it is. Do you have money for the doctor?

No. And I’m scared anyway.

Lizka died a month after she did it.

I have only been with the police superintendent for weeks.

The baby is his.

- Maybe I’ll ask him for help. - Bezus.

I thought Bezus had some resemblance of conscience

if he took care of Nastia and Misha, even if for a short while.

The room, the money. She was blackmailing him.

The poor bird.

What happened after the councilor of state had left?

You probably think right now

that this was the worst thing that has ever happened to you.

But believe me, it might be

that this will open the doors to something good in your life.

It will.

It is over, and I know why I did it.

You love your husband so much.

My advice to you, try to forget everything that happened as quickly as possible.

Look at it as an annoying bagatelle and minor trouble.

I don’t need your pity.

A bagatelle? I can believe that it is for you.

You are here on your own will,

and nobody made you do anything like this, did they?

Thank you.

I can handle it myself.

Could you please leave?

Whatever you say.

Andrey Andreyevich…

She was right about everything but one thing.

The worst was still ahead.

What did he tell her?

Like Vera, you probably don’t understand

why I decided to help Andrey Andreyevich.

Yes. He was planning a vile scheme to destroy the happiness

of two innocent people with your help!

Yes, it’s true. But I couldn’t act differently.

I owe to Andrey everything I have. I’m alive owing to him.

Do you know who Gromyko was?

[NO DIALOG]

God, I want this day to end.

It’s almost over.

Maybe we should take Katrusia from that house.

Even if that lady killed herself, we know what Zhadan is capable of.

You’re right. She shouldn’t be there. We’ll go there with first light.

Goddamn it.

Bezus, Zhadan… How could it all happen?

There are so many lies in your high society.

Everybody is so noble and rich, but none of them can be trusted.

There is deceit everywhere.

Truth be told, they got into high society through lies.

You shouldn’t paint everyone with a single brush, Nazar.

Do status and money define a person?

I am a part of this society, too, by the way.

Do I look like Bezus or Zhadan to me?

No.

You aren’t like them. You are kind.

You have a fiery spirit, but you are honest.

Also, you are very beautiful.

More beautiful than anyone in the world.

If that’s what you think, why do we keep hiding?

I know I will never find anyone kinder or more honest than you,

and I’m not going to look.

We have a house, we have the factory,

and we can give Zoriana everything she wants.

Olga, I don’t understand what you are talking about.

Marry me, and we’ll be happy.

[HAPPY MUSIC]

Timofey said the store was burned to the ground.

Only the walls are still standing.

And all because of the oil I had spilled.

Listen, what if we say that we didn’t mean it, that it was an accident?

Maybe he will forgive us.

Stop wailing right now! I have an idea.

- We won’t have to tell Father anything. - What do you mean?

I had to throw away all the goods, too.

- We couldn’t save anything. - Oh God.

Thank God at least the house is still standing.

Here is what I can’t understand. What could have started the fire?

Not a candle, not an icon lamp, nothing.

Oh my God.

[BACKGROUND CONVERSATION]

How many more veils are there?

This anticipation of pleasure is a torture.

[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC]

This Mademoiselle Gautier, as far as I can judge,

is a very educated lady.

She is doing the Dance of the Seven Veils.

According to the Bible, Salome performed it for Herod

and did so well that he offered her a reward of her choice,

even if she asked for half of his kingdom.

It’s a horrible story. I am sure Mademoiselle Gautier isn’t that cruel.

She is perfect.

[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC]

Here comes the seventh veil.

[APPLAUSE]

Mr. Bezus, it’s your wife!

Is that Bezus' wife?

This is Bezus's wife.

Soon he became indispensable for Gromyko.

He wouldn’t use Andrey for his most dubious doings.

He made him his ticket to the high society.

They bought him a sugar factory, invented an interesting background for him,

and Andrey became the sensation of the high society.

What did Vera have to do with it?

I went to Gromyko to make some money to buy my freedom and propose to Vera.

I had to become an important person.

He was trying so hard. I could see it.

I was Gromyko’s favorite girl.

He would book me for entire weeks. I would accompany him everywhere.

He even bought us a house.

He was married, but it didn’t stop him from making plans for us both.

It didn’t stop you, either, as I can see.

I don’t understand. What do you mean, we are leaving?

There will be no problem.

I have already registered the salons for the kid, Zhadan.

He has a grip. He will manage them no worse than I do.

He will send me the revenues. You and I will live by the sea.

I have converted all my assets into gold. It’s enough to last us a lifetime.

What about your wife? I don’t think she will just let you go.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

Tell me where the gold is!

I swear I don’t know anything. I… I found out just before you left.

Madame Gromyko, don’t be in a rush.

I have a mutually profitable proposal for you.

It appears she knew about the house he had purchased.

She also knew that Gromyko had been coming to Esplanadnaya

for the last six months only for me.

But she didn’t care…

until he decided to leave with the riches she was so used to.

Did you love him?

Yes.

A lot. And he loved me.

We just didn’t get a chance to be happy together.

I don’t know what would have happened if Andrey

didn’t choose that evening to bring the receipts.

Do you offer me a deal? Her life in exchange to my husband’s gold?

Does your heart belong to this whore, too?

My heart belongs to myself.

Your husband loved her, and I owe him too much.

Why do you want to do this?

He is dead, and his money

will be enough for you to start a new life anywhere in the world.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

All right.

Let her live if you want her to. Tell me where the gold is.

He could have stayed silent and let her kill me. We weren’t friends.

He didn’t owe anything to me, but he saved me.

Madame Gromyko would not settle until she found the money.

She would come to me sooner or later.

She wanted the money, and she easily sold her desire for revenge.

Later we opened the salon in that house.

When Andrey offered me to be the Madame, I didn’t hesitate for a second.

All I wanted was to pay my debt.

You got your chance on the day when Vera came to the brothel.

- Yes. - Liubov Vasilyevna,

please tell me what actually happened.

You saw it with your own eyes, didn’t you?

Yes, I did. I knew it would be a hard conversation.

I couldn’t imagine this noble young woman agreeing to the deal

Andrey was going to offer her.

Hello, Vera Maksimovna.

Andrey.

You came after all.

I’ve been here a while.

[SAD MUSIC]

I’m…

glad that you are here.

I wanted to give this back to you.

It was a gift from the bottom of my heart. You don’t return gifts like this one.

It came to my knowledge what has been asked of you,

and I know that you said yes.

[SAD MUSIC]

Stepan will be home today, and he is in no danger.

That’s everything that matters.

Thank you for showing great kindness to us.

What if he finds out… what you did to save him?

Your friend gave me his word

that these daguerreotypes will not fall into strange hands.

Yes, he…

Your husband will not see them or find out about what happened,

if you accept my conditions.

What?

You have to leave Gnatkevich and come to be with me.

Today. Then no one will get hurt.

Otherwise, your husband will receive the daguerreotype

and a detailed account of your affair with this man

before he leaves for his new assignment.

You will be left alone anyway, Vera.

I love you. I will make you happy.

Was it all you?

And his arrest, too?

- Did you come up with this low scheme? - It’s not important.

What matters is that you will be mine, as you were supposed to.

Never. It is never going to happen!

I love you, Vera. Please understand. No one is going to love you like I do!

Even if you were the last man living,

I would never have cast my lot

with a miserable, low, disgusting, ugly vermin.

- Stop it. - I would rather die than be with you.

Did you think your money would make you a decent man?

You can’t buy nobility and virtue. You are pathetic and revolting!

Shut up.

- I don’t even hate you. You disgust me. - Shut up. Please stop it.

I will always belong only to my husband. I will never be yours. Never,

Stop it!

[TRAGIC MUSIC]

Vera…

Vera…

I didn’t mean…

My God. She did it after all.

What?

She told me she would not survive this disgrace, that death would be better.

Yes. I didn’t get a chance to stop her.

[TRAGIC MUSIC]

Oh God…

I… How?

- Listen to me! - No! Don’t come close!

[SAD MUSIC]

Mr. Furs, I hope you didn’t regret accepting the invitation.

Just you wait. It’s getting more interesting.

- Rogneda Vasilyevna! - Not a step towards me!

Otherwise, I will go straight to Kreshchatik right now, wearing this.

Why are you suddenly so sad?

Grigoriy Viktorovich,

you bragged about being with Mademoiselle Gautier twice,

and you did not stint details praising your manhood.

Of course, it isn’t a sin to cheat on your pregnant wife with a brothel girl.

Being with a lady of your own class is a different matter,

isn’t it?

Your hypocrisy disgusts me.

Stop it, Rogneda Vasilyevna.

Not a chance!

Mr. Bukhteyev, why are you trembling like a wet chicken?

Are you scared that I will tell your wife?

You have been married for so long,

and there are so many things she doesn’t know about you.

I’m begging you, don’t tell Anna!

Please. She is frail. She will not survive the embarrassment.

You are pathetic.

Why didn’t you think about Anna when you were following me up these stairs,

when you were huffing and puffing in the throes of forbidden passion,

when you were stealing my glove?

I don’t want to even know what the hell you needed it for.

You didn’t worry about her health then.

Have mercy, Rogneda Vasilyevna.

You dirty, cowardly good-for-nothings.

You take pride of your noble principles in the parlors,

but when you cross their threshold, your true nature takes over.

Your disgusting, vulgar nature! And what about your wives?

They meekly wait for you at home, mourning your loss of interest.

You fell out of love with them?

You don’t know what love is.

For you it’s a petty coin,

a way to increase your capital or get a better job.

Isn’t that right? Yevgeniy Antonovich?

I’ve had enough.

Don’t be in a hurry, my dear husband.

I started it all just for you.

You shouldn’t miss the last part of my performance.

Father? You were supposed to come back in the morning…

What happened here? What the hell?

- Oh, Father. - Oh, Father!

It’s a disaster. The fire started in a blink of an eye.

The store went up in flames while we were sleeping, Father.

Woe is me!

Karp Karpovich, you’re back.

How come? What could have caught fire there?

The counter? The scales?

Father, it’s all my fault.

I went to look at the store before going to bed,

and I saw the light there.

I thought Pavlina Yosypivna would look after it.

I thought she would take her candlestick with her.

Oh, Father! If I only knew that candle would cause so much trouble!

What are you talking about?

You and Olesia were drinking tea at home when I came back from the store.

After you left, I went to the store again.

I thought you were going to clean it, because there were dirty towels,

some jars, and oil on the counter.

Right! The oil had probably caught fire from your candle.

Oh my God.

How dare you?

How can you lie like this, you dirty lowdown sidewinder!

Leave Dusia alone!

At least she is sincerely bereaved with what happened!

She isn’t bereaved! She is lying! Karp Karpovich, just look at her!

Enough!

I have lost my life’s business,

and not because of my daughter-in-law.

I left you in charge of my store, Pavlina Yosypivna.

I regret the day I met you.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

So that’s what you’re saying now!

You regret it, don’t you?

Here is the last thing I’m going to say to you.

I didn’t bring any candles to your store.

When I closed it, everything was spick and span.

I don’t need to make excuses for myself.

That’s all.

So, gentlemen, now you know

that Yevgeniy Antonovich went all the way

from a mere district police officer to the respected councilor of state

not owing to his talents but due to the fact that my father loved me,

and I, the young fool, fell in love with this gentleman.

You have said enough.

Why?

Are you offended?

Believe me, when I found out you decided to purchase a brothel

where the mother of your son used to work and live…

What?

…I also felt a little uncomfortable.

So bear with me. Yes, gentleman.

My esteemed spouse is the owner of this establishment.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

Mr. Furs, now, some amazing facts especially for you.

You all know our…

respected banker Mr. Lukashevich.

You won’t believe what this honorable gentleman dreams about.

Don’t listen to her! Don’t listen!

You have to understand, Katia. There is a simple rule.

If you put your head in a tiger’s mouth, be prepared that it will bite it off.

Vera had it coming.

- What are you trying to say? - I saw and heard anything.

She was insulting Andrey. She was goading him.

He didn’t want to kill her. He didn’t. It was a horrible, tragic accident.

I loved Vera more than life itself.

For seven years I had been dreaming about the moment

when I ask for her hand in marriage, and she says yes.

I knew she loved me.

I knew we would be together even if her father is against it,

and we would be happy.

CHIGIRIN

The sun is setting, and you are still working.

You didn’t even come back for lunch.

I can’t have lunch before I finish it.

What are you doing here?

Your father was angry last time he saw you talking to me.

You haven’t eaten since morning.

I asked at the kitchen. You need to eat something. Let’s go.

If someone asks, tell them it’s the young mistress’s folly.

She told you to take a break and eat something.

As for Father, he already made me a recluse.

I won’t let him take my friend away from me.

Thank you, Miss.

Come on, eat.

- Do you still have my present? - Of course.

I told you I would keep that knife at my heart till the day I die.

She treated me like a person, not like a thing belonging to her father.

Yes, I was a bondman with no rights or voice of his own,

but she talked to me,

listened to me, loved me.

Yes, I wasn’t her equal, but nobody could stop me from dreaming about her.

That’s when I decided to take a risk and work for Gromyko.

I was prepared to do anything.

Anything but murder.

[NO DIALOG]

I said I didn’t want anything! I couldn’t swallow a bite!

Yell at us, Father. Be angry as much as you need.

We deserve it.

You? No. You have nothing to do with it.

Karp Karpovich.

Karp.

Dusia, pour me some more.

[SAD MUSIC]

- Come on, wait! - I’m in a hurry.

- Don’t touch me! - Come on!

Who else wants to get hit in the face?

Don’t be angry, my friend. It’s my birthday. We are celebrating.

Will you come with us?

You shouldn’t be roaming Kiev streets alone so late at night.

I can’t, guys. I’m in a hurry.

You go ahead and celebrate. Make Kiev jealous.

- All right, bye. Bye! - Goodbye!

KIEV. BEZUS’S MANSION

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

Bitch! Bitch…

Shut up already.

[BACKGROUND DIALOG]

Here, drink this.

Are you really Mr. Bezus’s wife?

Yes.

Before God and the people.

That was some performance, my friend.

This bastard must have deserved it.

Do you think she went to the brothel because she was bored?

Think about what you’re saying, Lialia.

- What are you going to do now? - Leave her alone.

Just make sure you pay the girls, as you promised in front of everybody.

Makarova has the money.

My share is almost 2000. Divide it between you.

That’s very generous, of course, but what are you going to do now?

I suppose you’re too scared to go home.

I have a big room. You can stay with me if you want.

I’m not scared of anything.

But I’m not going home.

He was with me everywhere. At the docks, sailing the sea, everywhere.

It was my connection to Vera.

Is that the same knife?

Yes, the very same knife Yablonevskiy almost killed me with

and the one that took Vera’s life.

When I found out she was married and wasn’t going to wait for me,

I decided to forget her, to get her out of my mind,

but I couldn’t.

She had to be mine! Then I came up with a plan.

I returned the knife to her on the day when Gnatkevich was arrested…

so that it would be me that she turned to for help.

Oh my God, oh my God…

I wasn’t going to kill her.

I wanted to have a happy life with her.

He will be here any minute.

What? Are you crazy? Andrey, why did you do it? Why?

He didn’t kill her. The girl had a knife. She killed herself.

She probably couldn’t live with the humiliation.

Goddamn it. Just what we needed. Her husband will be here any minute.

- Vera, please open your eyes. - Andrey, Andrey, do you hear me?

We need to go. Her husband is coming.

I’m not going anywhere. I won’t leave her.

Andrey, listen to me. She is dead.

You can’t do anything for her. You will ruin your life if you stay here.

Let Bezus get it all sorted out. Come on, Andrey, let’s go.

- Hurry! - Let’s go. Come on.

Goddamn it.

It was as if I died with her, killed myself back in that room.

She was my light. Everything I did I did for her.

When I found out that her father lost his mind,

and his estate was to be repossessed for debts,

I secretly bought all his mortgage deeds

and set up a small stipend to the remaining servants,

so that they took care of Mr. Korolenko.

I wanted to preserve something that was dear to her.

The people whom we are used to consider models of high morals and spirituality…

Mr. Furs, the issue is already made up,

and they tell me I need to make room on the front page for a new article.

- Has something happened ? - Exactly. Something has happened.

Every household has to learn about this sensation.

I hope we’ll have enough time to print out the issue.

We will, my friend, we will.

I’ll send the text to the printer in an hour. Yes.

- There is a boy asking to see you. - A boy…

With some important note.

At this hour?

All right, send him in.

Come in.

You again?

[EERIE MUSIC]

Here.

If you want to be the first one to know how today’s scandal ends up,

be at 3 a.m. on the Dnieper bank at the Lavra walls…

[EERIE MUSIC]

Now you know everything.

Each of us has a past,

but the past shouldn’t influence your future.

I’m not a monster.

Everything that I did and that I will regret for the rest of my life,

I did for love.

All I’m asking is that you did the impossible and believed me.

I didn’t want her to die.

If God gave me a chance to bring her back, I’d give anything for it.

The money, the connections, everything.

[SAD MUSIC]

I believe you, Andrey, I do.

[THEME MUSIC]