Well, this one's pretty straightforward: After his family is kidnapped in the middle of the night by the Soviet government, young Alex joins a gang of homeless, wild children.
But these kids aren't the only wild children running around Russia at the moment. In fact, there are tons others of who have gone through the same exact things that Alex has—it's practically a nationwide epidemic. Although it would be easy to judge these kids for their grimy clothing and rough-around-the-edges manners, it's only by getting to know them that we can understand exactly why they're so darn wild.