The key subplot is the drab uniformity of Brezhnev-era public architecture. This setting is explained in a humorous animation prologue, in which architects are overruled by politicians and red tape. As a result, the entire country is polluted with identical, unimaginative multistory apartment buildings that can be found in every city, town, and suburb across the former Soviet Union. These buildings are completely uniform in every detail including the door key of each apartment.