It was purely by chance that I found this film among the restored works, only a pity that most of them are still out of color. In any case, Russian cinema has not disappointed me yet.

Ivan Krylov's story brings back bitter memories to me about two of my old friends. Their problems have only been going on for the past year.

A man named Phú (meaning "rich" in Vietnamese). Last year I was in so much trouble and despair that I invited him out to the iced tea stall and asked for his help. I wanted him to go with me to the HanoiTV to collaborate on translating Russian films, of which I have a lot of translations. However, he refused in a voice and attitude almost like a prince. Even though he was fired from the city portal, he still has a press card and that could help me a little with connecting issues. Imagine that he just woke up that afternoon after playing games, and his clothes and hair were in terrible shape. My other friend and me invited him with all the courtesy of educated people, but he showed us no respect, and even asked us to pay for him before leaving early. It must also be said that at that time he bragged that he had many relationships, but the reality was that he was about to be fired again and had to live off the meager salary of his young wife. About a year later, on the hottest day of summer, he suddenly called me in a superior tone. At that time I was sleeping after staying up all night to work, so I was very tired and irritable. He asked me out to an iced tea stall in a very dirty place. I refused immediately, certainly. Suddenly he asked me to pay him back the debt from when we were students. The amount of money was really not much compared to my ability, however I felt indignant about the way he treated me before. I responded that he should pay me a few hundred US dollars to make up for the meals I had bought him, and then I can pay him back. He couldn't argue with me, so he cursed : "My life met another dog". I immediately replied : "Alright, I am a dog, but my name is preserved forever in the national library ; while death is your end, even your descendants do not want to remember you". That same day, I told another friend : "If he behaved more modestly, even though I had nothing at the moment, I would still try to borrow money from somewhere to help him ; however, with his behavior like that, even if I had a mountain of gold, I still wouldn't give it to him".

"Other friend" named Định (meaning "decide" in Vietnamese). He looks wiser and more elegant than the above mentioned friend. He is a lawyer and has a pretty comfortable life from his job and the support of his family. However, since he is a lawyer, he cannot go too far in that field. He can only be interested in some issues in mainland China and Japan, and is very fond of cars ; other than that, he knows nothing about world politics and cultural issues. It could even be said that he was always prejudiced whenever I mentioned the "West", a term still understood to mean Europe and the US. That's why we're quite different from each other, even though we studied literature together. I always give him moral advice to help him balance between reality and work. For example : One day he was extremely sad because he could not help a client recover a large sum of money (because the defendant had bribed the court) ; I advised him to surprise the client by taking that person out to eat something, and thus help that one get away from despair and start the life over. However, he did not follow and even declared that : I am nothing for him to listen to (although it was good advice). Whenever I sit next to him, I am always struck by the shortsightedness, arrogance and selfishness of an individual who received too much grace but wasted opportunities. Oh yeah, that's why i feel bitter ! Fate is so ironic, like the name of a Soviet drama, when those who know too much receive contempt, while those who know too little always waste everything.