1996, the first Chechen war, a psychiatric hospital located near the border. Janna and her fellow inmates live their lives unaware of the coming events, but they are bewildered when the train that delights them each night does not pass by. The following morning, the medical staff has vanished. Chaos breaks out: some decide to leave, but the sound of nearby bombing sends them back to what they recognize as home. Janna finds refuge in a dream world with her accordeon and the songs of Bryan Adams. When a group of soldiers settles in the hospital, Janna falls in love with one: but she's afraid to break Bryan dams' heart if she marries him. When Russian warriors bring war to the asylum, all Janna can do is play her accordion and pray for peace to return.

"Running full steam ahead in his non- Hollywood mode, in House of Fools director Andrei Konchalovsky describes the war between Russia and Chechnya as a conflict between madmen, compared to whom the residents of a mental institution are sane human beings. This whimsical fairy tale has the comically grotesque appeal of a Fellini film."
Deborah Young, Variety