Passport

Passport is a 1990 Soviet-French-Austrian-Israeli tragicomedian film directed by Georgiy Daneliya. Plot Half-brothers Yasha "Yakov" and Merab Papashvili live in Tbilisi, in 1987. Yasha is a musician, and Merab works as a taxi driver. Yasha (being half-Jewish on his mother's side) decides to repatriate to Israel with his family. Merab has no thoughts of emigration, and is in fact quite happy with his lifestyle as a careless playboy in the USSR. Out of love for his brother, Merab accompanies Yasha and his family to Moscow and Sheremetyevo airport to say goodbye. At the airport, the brothers want to drink champagne together one last time. The cafe in the public area of the terminal doesn't sell any, and instead directs them to the duty-free shop. Without considering the possible consequences, easy-going Merab borrows his brother's passport and pretends to be him to cross the security checkpoint to the departure area. Merab buys champagne at the duty-free, but then realizes that there's no way to exit the departure area and return to the public terminal. He is given contradictory information by airport employees about where to go and with whom to speak, and he becomes increasingly frantic as he attempts to exit the departure area before Yasha misses his flight. Due to a misunderstanding with a stewardess, he is escorted to his brother's seat on the flight to Austria, which promptly takes off. Onboard the flight, Merab befriends the charming Borya, who is dressed as a stereotypical Russian peasant and sports a balalaika. The plane lands in Vienna (a common practice at the time, due to the lack of direct flights from Moscow to Tel Aviv). As soon as they leave the airport, Borya breaks apart his balalaika to reveal a large stash of US dollars hidden inside (at the time, it was illegal to earn, use, or own US dollars in the USSR). Borya buys himself a stylish outfit and casually offers Merab a job. Merab refuses, and Borya instead gifts him a taxi ride to the Soviet embassy. He then cheerfully departs for the casino. Merab attempts to enter the embassy, but cannot because the gates are locked. He repeatedly rings the entry bell until an embassy employee opens the door to tell him that the Soviet ambassador to Austria is out until Monday, and that even if the ambassador were present, his case would require a significant amount of time to resolve. Merab continues to press the issue until the Austrian police are called.