One of the key works in Soviet film history, long suppressed, Ilyich's Gate reproduces the social conflicts, moral collisions and psychological problems of the late '60s, during the "thaw" that occurred after the cult of Stalin was exposed. With surprising authenticity, this "poem of Moscow" tells of three childhood friends from the old industrial region of Moscow, Ilyich's Gate. It depicts not only their personal lives, but also the nation's newly revived social climate. The youths seek genuine goals and values in their lives, oppose the cynicism of party functionaries and reject both informing for the KGB and fear of the KGB itself. Their romantic aspirations for a new collectivism and their openness to free thought are underlined in a documentary scene of a recital of young poets (including Akhmadulina, Vozhnesensky and Yevtushenko).