The Circus Burned Down and the Clowns Ran Away, 1998

A film director Nikolai Khudokormov is on the brink of his 50th anniversary. He has the whole life rich in events under his belt: creative quests, several marriages and children. Now he has to live with an old insane Mother and seems to be indifferent to what is going on around. But at the same time he is obsessed by the idea to make a film which will be his best one. Nikolai makes every effort to raise the money for this project. And all the time he is followed by a mysterious stranger. She is a beautiful young creature who speaks to him about the vanity of the world and the meaningless of a human life. Finally, Nikolai realizes that he is speaking to the Death herself.