改编自A·加里奇的著名戏剧“水兵寂静”（为莫斯科一条街的名称，那里有著名的“水兵寂静”监狱，斯大林时期关押政治犯的地方，俄罗斯前首富、原尤先科石油公司总裁米哈伊尔-霍多尔科夫斯基今仍关押在那里）。
一个犹太裔的爸爸，一个音乐天才的儿子，一段二战时期无法磨灭的记忆。

契若夫（鲍里斯·奇尔阔夫 Boris Chirkov 饰）、拉宾（亚历山大·巴希罗夫 Aleksandr Bashirov 饰）和涅斯特拉托夫（瓦西里·梅尔库里耶夫 Vasili Merkuryev 饰）是青梅竹马的玩伴，三人之间感情非常的要好。长大成人之后，三人走上了不同的道路，契若夫成为了著名的外科医生，拉宾成为了畜牧业专家，而涅斯特拉托夫是三人里最有出息的一个，成为了建筑事业管理局的领导。
契若夫和拉宾一直想要完成他们童年时代许下的心愿——沿着河流旅行，他们好不容易才联系上了高高在上的涅斯特拉托夫，可当两人将涅斯特拉托夫带到他们的载具——一张看起来随时都会散架的木筏前时，涅斯特拉托夫震惊了！

Rusalochka opens in modern day Copenhagen, Denmark. Several tourists gather around the capital's famous mermaid statue, as a tour guide explains its significance. A fish in the water below the tourists scoffs at their foolishness, and then, proceeds to tell about the doomed love of the mermaid. Upon reaching her 15th birthday, the Little Mermaid is allowed to swim up to the surface above. As soon as she does, however, the Mermaid spots a young prince caught up in a dreadful storm. She admires the man's bravery and decides to save him, declaring that, "The beautiful and the brave should not perish." After the mermaid returns to the ocean, she decides that she wants to become human.