Aleksandre wants to become a mafia boss. In Kudaisi, men gathered to undermine the russian regime. They are called "Thieves in Law." They become powerful and earn the respect of the people. Aleksandre meets the criteria for admission; stealing, killing, swear allegiance and recruit youth. At the age of 17, he is sentenced to death. Despite interrogation and torture in the prison, he reveals no names. He is deported to the Gulag. For 19 years he lives there. As a mafia boss, he leads a violent regime. They call him Strangler. The brutality is tolerated by the management. Otherwise, the huge camps would not be run.Aleksandre misses the chances created by the collapse of the USSR. When he is back in Tbilisi, the Mafiosi who escaped Saakashvili's persecution have long since established themselves abroad. Alone and poor, Aleksandre looks for his family in Kudaisi, but is brusquely rejected.Shortly before his death he has to realize that everything he had done for the mafia was useless.