Since this is a movie about Stalinist oppression, there are some genuinely gut-wrenching moments during the bouts of pitch-black comedy.
- When the police start shouting his name, the conductor solemnly tells his wife to denounce him as a traitor so she won't be arrested either. Of course, he turns out to not be in trouble, but it speaks volumes about the kind of place Stalin's Russia is that he expects that kind of thing to happen to him.
- The poor maid, who was saved from execution by Beria, only to be raped by the bastard. Her expression when she is released is utterly devastating.
- Molotov's own wife was sent to the Gulag, and the guy feels the need to badmouth her. Despite this, Stalin still puts Molotov on the kill list. Kaganovich himself had to throw his own brother under the bus and gets angrily defensive when Beria brings it up. Even being in Stalin's inner circle won't spare you or your family his wrath.
