The life of filmmaker Alexander Medvedkin (1900-1989) serves as a template for exploring the history of Russia during that period, from its takeover under Lenin and the Bolsheviks, to the advent of the most hopeful part of the Gorbachev era which prefigured the demise of the U.S.S.R. As a filmmaker, Medvedkin had a motto which explains many of his works: "It is not the past that dominates us, but images of the past." This documentary features clips from many of Medvedkin's and his contemporaries' films, features interviews with the man and his daughter, and celebrates his accomplishments. In an interesting sideline, he invented a camera which could be attached to a modified rifle, so that soldiers could film battle scenes.