Wandering minstrel Ashik Kerib falls in love with a rich merchant's daughter, but is spurned by her father and forced to roam the world for a thousand and one nights. Now presumed dead by those he loves, he performs for the poor and unfortunate on his journeys through the wilderness. Parajanov's visually ravishing 'tableaux vivants' tell Lermontov's romantic tale while Turkish and Azerbaijani folk songs transport us into its mystical landscapes.
Officer Zhilin, a Caucasus officer, receives a letter from his mother and returns home. He and another Russian officer are attacked by mountaineers, and Zhilin is captured without ransom money.
Dangerous criminals attempt to involve children in their crimes, but law enforcement officers manage to promptly put a stop to their activities.
