Shepitko’s third feature evidenced her sincere and subtle directorial skills and consolidated her reputation as a world class filmmaker. The film tells the tale of two surgeons who betray early promise to pursue comfortable lives and false values in later life. But one feels he has had enough of luxury and returns to his native Siberia to resume a local surgical practice. The film transcends its simple storyline to explore personal moral choices and critiques the shallow pursuit of consumerism.