Andrey and Vanya are two young boys growing up alone with their mother. There is a solidarity to the family, a closeness born out of hardship and emotional dependence, but it is the re-appearance of their father after over a decade's absence that will prove the lads greatest test of brotherhood. Reluctantly allowed on a fishing trip with their new found father, what should have been an exercise in family bonding becomes a tortuous and punishing journey of discovery. "The Return" is a thriller that works just as well as a human drama, relying as much on characterisation as it does plot; hard, gritty beautifully performed and stunningly shot in some breathtaking Russian scenery.