In Moscow[edit]
Set against the backdrop of the Cold War and Soviet political repression of the early 1980s prior to perestroika, Vladimir Ivanoff (Robin Williams), a saxophonist with the Moscow circus, lives in a crowded apartment with his extended family. He stands in lines for hours to buy toilet paper and shoes. When the apparatchik assigned to the circus (Kramarov as Boris) criticizes Vladimir for being late to rehearsal and suggests Vladimir may miss the approaching trip to New York, Vladimir gives Boris a pair of shoes from the queue that made Vladimir late. While Ivanoff is riding in his friend Anatoly's (Baskin as the circus clown) Lada, Anatoly stops to buy fuel for his car from a mobile black market gasoline dealer. While the friends wait for the gasoline seller to fill Anatoly's jerrycans, the two practice their English.
Vladimir acts as go-between for his crazy grandfather and KGB agents who want to arrest the old man for shouting anti-Soviet slogans out the apartment window. Vladimir defends his grandfather to the agents as a harmless comedian who is a war hero.
Defection in New York[edit]
The circus troupe is sent to perform in New York City. Anatoly, who has talked of little else but defecting, can't bring himself to go through with it; and Vladimir, who had opposed the scheme as reckless and foolhardy, suddenly decides to do it. He runs from his Soviet controllers and hides behind a perfume counter at Bloomingdale's under the skirt of the clerk, Lucia Lombardo (MarÃ­a Conchita Alonso). When local police and the FBI arrive, Vladimir stands up to his controllers and defects to the United States with news cameras rolling. Vladimir is left with nothing but the clothes on his back, the money in his pocket, and a pair of blue jeans he had planned to buy for his girlfriend in Moscow.
Life in the Big Apple[edit]
Lionel Witherspoon (Cleavant Derricks), an African American security guard who has just protected Vladimir from his furious Russian handlers during Vladimir's defection, takes him home to Harlem to live with Lionel's mother, unemployed father, sister, and cranky but good-hearted grandfather--a living arrangement noticeably similar to that of Vladimir's family back in Moscow.
With the help of sympathetic immigration attorney Orlando Ramirez (Alejandro Rey), a Cuban emigrant, Vladimir soon adapts to life in the United States. Vladimir attempts to find work despite speaking little English and fearing the threat of his former KGB handlers. He initially works as a McDonalds cashier, sidewalk merchant, and limousine driver. Although these jobs enable Vladimir to eventually move into his own apartment, he begins to doubt he will ever play saxophone professionally again.
Vladimir starts a relationship with Lucia. At a party celebrating Lucia's becoming an American citizen, Vladimir proposes to her; but she refuses and breaks up with him. Lionel decides to return to Alabama to be close to his minor son. However, more bad news comes in a letter from Vladimir's family that his grandfather has died.
Grieving, Vladimir goes to a Russian nightclub to ease his mind. When he returns home late to his apartment building drunk, he is mugged by two African American youths. He reports the incident to the police with his attorney Orlando present; and the two go to a diner where Vladimir rants about his misfortunes. During a confrontation with a burly man who reveals himself also as a Russian defector, Vladimir comes to appreciate his good fortune of living in the United States.
Soon after, Lucia reunites with Vladimir telling him that she is not ready for marriage but would love to live with an immigrant. Lionel moves back from Alabama and takes over Vladimir's job driving a limousine.
In the end, Vladimir encounters his former KGB handler, who is now a street vendor selling hotdogs. He admitted he had to flee the USSR himself due to his failure to prevent Vladimir's defection, but has also come to appreciate New York City. Vladimir soon gets a job in a nightclub, where he once again plays saxophone.
who starts a relationship with Lucia?
Vladimir