12 Stulyev on AllMovie

It is 1927, and a former noblewoman's son-in-law (Anatoli Papanov) hears from her deathbed that during the revolution, ten years ago, she hid the family jewels in one of a set of 12 chairs. He teams up with charming con man Ostap Bender (Andrei Mironov) to find all 12. Also chasing after the chairs is a renegade Orthodox priest (Rolan Bykov). This film, told in a sly, slapstick style, holds many surprises as it recounts their desperate efforts to find the jeweled chair of the set, which has been scattered to the four winds. The story is based on the satirical Russian novel The Twelve Chairs, which offered a keen, humorous depiction of certain Soviet types during the so-called NEP (New Economic Policy) that allowed certain entrepreneurial activities to take place. This novel has been the subject for many adaptations including one by Mel Brooks.