The image of Russia in the 1990s in D. Astrakhan's film "Everything Will Be All Right": Artistic reflection of social and cultural transformation

The subject of this research is Russian feature films from the 1990s that represent the image of Russia amid social and cultural changes, while the focus is on the artistic features and semantic mechanisms of shaping the image of Russia in the film "Everything Will Be Alright." The article examines key aspects of this image's formation: the state of social and cultural uncertainty, moral guidelines during a transitional period, the motive of emigration, the transformation of the family institution, the loss of trust in the state and society, as well as the resilience of the "little man" in an era of the destruction of the familiar world structure. Special attention is given to the analysis of visual and narrative solutions through which the director captures the traumatic experience of transitioning from Soviet to post-Soviet reality. A comparative approach is employed, comparing the image of Russia in "Everything Will Be Alright" with its representation in other social dramas of the 1990s: "Promised Heaven" (1991), "You Are the Only One for Me" (1993), "Window to Paris" (1993), "Brother" (1997), and "The Sharpshooter" (1999). Research methods include the interpretive method (analysis of symbolism, imagery, dialogues, and the film’s dramaturgy), the cultural-historical method (considering the film in the context of the sociocultural situation of the 1990s), the comparative method (comparing Astrakhan's film with other cinematic works of the era), and the hermeneutic method (revealing hidden meanings, tonal nuances, and the author's ethical position). The main findings of the research indicate that Astrakhan's film represents not only an artistic fixation of post-Soviet reality but also an important ethical document of the time, in which the "little man" becomes a central figure of national consciousness. The author's contribution lies in a comprehensive examination of one of the key cinematic works of the 1990s as a representative cultural artifact capable of reflecting and interpreting the sociocultural trauma of the era. The scientific novelty of the research is in the systemic analysis of the presented film as an artistic work that forms an original and underexplored image of Russia in the 1990s, as well as in identifying Dmitry Astrakhan's authorial position, which differs from the dominant narratives of violence, cynicism, and social hopelessness in the cinema of the 1990s.