The protagonist in "Bastards" is a young resident of some Russian city. He unsuccessfully tries to adapt to the modern Russian savage life. The world around him lives by rules dictated by the black market and Chechen wars. It is a cruel and unjust world, where you can survive only with a bunch of stolen dollars instead of brains. For a young Russian, money is a symbol of power and strength. Even the new state ideology feeds on blood oil dollars. In Russia there is no more room for dreams. This is the era of anti-utopia.