Shortly after his marriage to Anastasia, Ivan Sanchin, who works as a projectionist at the headquarters of the NKVD (called, anachronistically, KGB in the film), is summoned urgently to the Kremlin. Having proved his skill, he is appointed private projectionist to Stalin and his inner circle, including the head of state security Beria. This makes him proud and happy, for he venerates the dictator as if he were a god.