For sensitive, sheltered teenager Inna, whiling away her days in a provincial Russian town deeply rooted in Orthodox patriarchy and seemingly untouched by the glitz of glasnost that has transformed her country's urban centers, life doesn't seem to offer much in the way of comfort or joy. Clinging to her stern, emotionally distant father's back as they bicycle around their not exactly picturesque village-with adorable younger brother Vovka perched perilously on the handlebars-Inna surveys her surroundings with uncertainty and increasing fear, for a serial killer is on the loose and is targeting young girls. When big-city girl Masha arrives on the scene, replete with makeup, porno mags, and spirited defiance of local customs, Inna is challenged to question long-held beliefs regarding societal mores, religious dogma, and the unpredictable actions of her mysterious father. Meanwhile, the manhunt continues as a kindly priest struggles with the dangerous secrets he's privy to in the confessional, a vengeful inspector closes in on a likely suspect. and Inna's innocence is wrenched away through hard-earned wisdom and shocking plot twists. Skillfully merging Inna's coming-of-age tale with whodunit suspense and a measured critique of nationalist tradition-in this case literally murdering the younger generation-codirectors Alexander Kasatkin and Natalia Nazarova imbue The Daughter with the slow-burn tension of New Romanian Cinema and a post-perestroika perspective on dashed hopes in the homeland. (Note: English subtitles are imperfect, though pose no problems in following the story.)