The film “The Theme” which won the top prize at the 1987 Berlin International Film Festival over “The Sea and Poison"and “Platoon” is set in Suzdal, Russia. However, scenes depicting the protagonist's struggle over whether to emigrate to America caused controversy, leading to the film being shelved for nearly a decade before its release. Its eventual award marked the fulfillment of a long-held dream.

Playwright Yesenin travels to Suzdal, a rural town 26 km from Vladimir, the regional capital northeast of Moscow, seeking inspiration for a new work. Confronted with his own mediocrity in Suzdal, he suffers psychological damage. Amidst this, he becomes drawn to Sasha, a museum guide and former student of Maria, a retired teacher who takes him in. Yet, even she criticizes his plays, plunging him into an existential crisis. Meanwhile, Sasha herself is torn between her feelings for Andrei, an anti-establishment man planning to emigrate to America.

The film depicts how those seeking inspiration superficially consume a place, only to despair at their own arrogance, and how they gradually come to terms with the mediocrity thrust upon them by themselves and others.

Sasha works as a guide at the museum within the Spaso-Efimiev Monastery, part of the World Heritage Site's white stone architectural ensemble in Vladimir and Suzdal. She is depicted giving commentary in French about the poet Alexander Chizhikov. Yesenin doesn't understand French. He escapes into thought in a museum room where only the sound resonates. Though he wields language as a playwright, he harbors a growing complex about his ignorance of other languages, a victim of Soviet education. He flashes Sasha a grin, but meets her scornful gaze. On his travels, the mask of the popular playwright slips, revealing the foolishness of the intellectual he thought himself to be. Yesenin approaches Sasha seeking solace for his insecurities, only to sink deeper into a quagmire.

The film captures the Kremlin, a landmark of Suzdal, in long shots. By unfolding weighty theories within the Spaso-Feofimov Monastery, outside the protagonist's immediate experience, it draws out the narrative buried deep within the land, weaving in complex psychology.