''The Big Exchange'' (russian: Менялы) is a 1992 Russian-American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Georgiy Shengeliya.

Plot

The plot centers on the 1961 monetary reform in the Soviet Union. This involved the denomination of all currency 10:1; conspicuously, the copper

kopeck The kopek or kopeck ( rus, копейка, p=kɐˈpʲejkə, ukr, копійка, translit=kopiika, p=koˈpʲijkə, be, капейка) is or was a coin or a currency unit of a number of countries in Eastern Europe closely associated with t ...

s (1/100 of a

ruble The ruble (American English) or rouble (Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union. , currencies named ''rub ...

) were excluded from the exchange due to the expense of re-minting them. Thus, effectively making them 10 times more valuable. The protagonists of the movie are tasked by a

Soviet government The Government of the Soviet Union ( rus, Прави́тельство СССР, p=prɐˈvʲitʲɪlʲstvə ɛs ɛs ɛs ˈɛr, r=Pravítelstvo SSSR, lang=no), formally the All-Union Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, commonly ab ...

functionary (who is also a secret millionaire) to enact a get-rich scheme which involves them touring the country and exchanging the old paper banknotes, soon to be on their way out, for small copper coins. The film then deals with their misadventures on the road.

Cast

* Vladimir Ilyin as Babaskin *

Andrey Ponomaryov Andrey, Andrej or Andrei (in Cyrillic script: Андрей, Андреј or Андрэй) is a form of Andreas/Ἀνδρέας in Slavic languages and Romanian. People with the name include: *Andrei of Polotsk ( – 1399), Lithuanian nobleman *An ...

as Dzhora Grakin *

Vadim Zakharchenko Vadim Viktorovich Zakharchenko (russian: Вадим Викторович Захарченко; 19 February 1929 — 2 January 2007) was a Soviet and Russian actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1954 to 2002. Honored Artist of t ...

as Ignatyevich * Yuri Gorin *

Valentina Telichkina Valentina Ivanovna Telichkina (russian: Валенти́на Ива́новна Тели́чкина; born January 10, 1945) is a Soviet and Russian film and stage actress. People's Artist of the Russian Federation (2009). Biography Valentina ...

as Zoya Aleksandrovna * Oksana Mysina as Lenochka Grakina *

Renat Davletyarov Renat Favarisovich Davletyarov (russian: Рена́т Фавари́сович Давлетья́ров; born August 17, 1961, Astrakhan, USSR) is a Russian film director, film producer and screenwriter. President of the Guild of Producers of Rus ...

as First persecutor * Nail Idrisov as Second persecutor * Oleg Durygin as Third persecutor *

Alla Meshcheryakova Alla may refer to: * Ara Gaya Ara Gaya, also known as Ana Gaya, Asiryangguk ( 아시량국, 阿尸良國)), and Anra, Alla (안라, 安羅), was a city-state kingdom in the part of Gaya confederacy, in modern-day Haman County of South Korea. ...

as Serafima MaksimovnaМенялы (1992) Full Cast & Crew
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Big Exchange, The 1992 films 1990s Russian-language films Russian comedy films American comedy films Films set in 1961 Films set in Crimea Films set in the Soviet Union 1992 comedy films 1990s American films