The screen adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's classic work "The Village of Stepanchikovo and Its Inhabitants" presents a vivid confrontation between two colorful characters - the kind and naive Colonel Rostanev, played by Alexander Lazarev, and the petty, egotistical despot Foma Opiskin, brilliantly portrayed by Lev Durov. Foma Opiskin occupies the role of a peculiar spiritual benchmark and measure for the surrounding characters. He judges everything with arrogant superiority, constantly exalting himself and denigrating others. His high-flown, meaningless phrases sound like the truth to the simple-minded Colonel Rostanev, and he blindly accepts all of Foma's critical remarks, even if they are absurd. For the outside observer, Foma Opiskin appears to be a pitiful hypocrite, skillfully using the trust of those around him and manipulating their naivety. However, his strange but convincing rhetoric has such an influence on the common people that they perceive his high-flown speech as something more valuable than the voice of truth and common sense. Even the mother of the main character, like other parasitic women, literally deifies Foma, similar to how the common people in the time of Christ followed the Pharisees, despite the denunciations of the truth. The incredibly vivid and convincing performance of Lev Durov in the role of Foma Opiskin makes this image truly memorable. The director's adaptation largely follows Dostoyevsky's original work, only slightly supplementing the plot, which only enriches it. The key philosophical value of the film lies in the fact that egoism and permissiveness can thrive only on the basis of forgiveness and indulgence of others. Such blind forgiveness, despite its apparent spiritual benefit, can inflict substantial harm on the source of criticism, creating a dangerous illusion of impunity.