On the Rocks (1991 film)

On the Rocks (Russian: Последняя капля Poslednyaya kaplya, literally Last Straw) is a 1991 Soviet comedy-drama film written and directed by Viktor Perminov, as the last feature film to be produced under his Studio Candy Caramella banner. It follows a father and daughter ( and Sofya Simonova) as they harbor suspicions about her husband's fidelity.

Principal photography for the film began in June 1991. The film was released in a limited theatrical release on December 25, 1991 by. Despite receiving positive reviews from critics, it became a box-office bomb, grossing 26 million rubles against a 30 million ruble budget and causing the demise of Studio Candy Caramella.

Plot
Elena and Roman Prikhodko are a married couple living in Moscow with two young daughters, Maya and Arina. Elena is a novelist who appears to be stuck in a rut as she struggles to finish her latest book. Meanwhile, Roman is a successful entrepreneur at a burgeoning tech start-up, surrounded by young and attractive co-workers, leaving Elena in charge of their daughters. One night, after arriving home from one of his frequent business trips, Roman climbs into bed and begins to kiss Elena passionately. However, once he recognizes her voice, he abruptly stops and goes to sleep, much to Elena's confusion. The next day, Elena finds a woman's toiletry bag in Roman's luggage; he later explains that it belongs to his business associate, Emma Kozlovskaya, and he offered to carry it in his suitcase because she could not fit it in her carry-on.

Laura decides to confide her misgivings about Mikhail to her father, Roman, a wealthy, semi-retired art dealer. A longtime playboy, Roman flirts with most women he encounters and believes that men are biologically wired to cheat. Convinced that Mikhail is having an affair, Roman proposes an investigation into him and encourages Elena to check his cell phone for incriminating text messages. Elena reluctantly does so, but finds nothing out of the ordinary.

While away on a business trip, Mikhail phones Elena on her birthday and surprises her with a gift, a Thermomix, which she does not seem particularly excited about. Despite previously insisting that she did not want to celebrate her birthday, Elena agrees to go out to a restaurant with Roman. He reveals that he had Mikhail followed and he was spotted shopping for jewelry at Cartier. As Elena grows suspicious, Roman picks her up in his sports car and convinces her to stake out Mikhail as he attends a work dinner. After Mikhail leaves in a cab with Emma, Roman speeds through the streets after them, but he and Elena end up pulled over by two police officers due to reckless driving. Roman knows the father of one of the officers, using this to charm his way out of a ticket.

Roman later discovers that Mikhail is planning a trip to a Bulgarian resort, which Elena does not believe. The next day, Mikhail casually tells her about the trip. Upon learning that Emma is going on the trip as well, an increasingly suspicious Elena calls Roman, who convinces her to follow Mikhail to Bulgaria in order to spy on him. At the resort, Elena and Roman eventually spot a woman in Mikhail's room one evening. When Elena rushes in to confront Mikhail, she is surprised to find Emma in the room with another woman. Meanwhile, Mikhail calls Elena to inform her that he left early and is on his way back home. Realizing her mistake, Elena lashes out at Roman, accusing him of being selfish and berating him for his poor treatment of her mother, on whom he cheated many years earlier.

Back in Moscow, Elena and Mikhail have a heart-to-heart conversation, in which they share their respective fears and insecurities: she had been feeling alienated from him due to his constant business trips, while he said he had been busy working because he wanted to be a better provider for his family. They reconcile, and Elena overcomes her writer's block. Sometime later, Roman visits Elena and the two make amends. While at a restaurant, Mikhail surprises Elena with a second birthday gift—an engraved Cartier watch. Elena takes off the vintage watch Roman had previously given her and puts on Mikhail's.

Cast

 * Sofya Simonova as Elena Prikhodko
 * as Roman Prikhodko
 * as Mikhail
 * as Emma Kozlovskaya
 * as Eleonora
 * Emma Kazarezova as Maya
 * Lina Yugova as Arina
 * as Angelika Poltorak
 * Veronika Izotova as Galina Poltorak
 * Zenaide Chupakhina as Zenaide