As always, Arkady Renko is about to lose his job, is a witness to the lunacy of the New Russia, and is insisting on solving a crime that has already been conveniently closed. The case involves a young woman who is not the drug addicted prostitute she might appear; at the same time his young friend Zhenya has met a runaway whose baby has been kidnapped. The scenes involving street kids and the vivid snapshots of modern Russia almost make up for the unusually underdeveloped plot. Disappointing after Stalin's Ghost, but only because the bar is set so high.