Oleg Ukhov

Blending dramatic situations with a documentary-influenced visual style, Happy Birthday looks in at a typical day in a Russian maternity hospital. The patients range from a middle aged woman pleased if surprised by her current pregnancy to a Muslim woman whose marriage to a Russian has blighted her relationship with her family. No matter what their situations, the women draw strength and support from each other as they share their common experience.

The Shatalov family plays an important role in the life of their neighborhood. The head of the family, Alyona, runs a management company that serves the whole quarter. Her husband Mikhail is a doctor at the district polyclinic, and their 20—year-old son Artyom serves as a district police officer. Every day, this magnificent family solves the everyday and everyday problems of the residents of their area, constantly getting into funny and curious situations. But one day the Shatalovs' personal problems grow to the scale of a domestic disaster.