Peace is the continuation of hell. In fall 1945, poverty – bordering on starvation – is rampant in war - scarred Leningrad. Masha and Iya, who due to her tallness is also called beanpole, have been welded together by their joint fight for survival. When Masha’s son suffers an accident under Iya's care, the two of them feel it is their duty to cure the inner wounds in their mutual support. In doing so, however, the two women enter downward spirals of trangressions and mutual dependencies. 

With the story of Masha and Iya, Bagalov masterfully tells an exemplary tale of powerlessness in the face of post-traumatic momentums that scarred a whole generation in Europe. The film was inspired by storys from Swetlana Alexijevich’s documentary novel The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II that awards late recognition to female front-line veterans.