Set against the backdrop of the 1978 Cold War, 'The Free World' follows the plight of the Krasnansky family, three generations of Soviet Jews who undertake a momentous journey from the oppressive clutches of Soviet Russia to seek asylum in the West. As the Iron Curtain parts slightly, the family finds themselves in a six-month limbo in Rome, the epicenter of the emigrant's carnival. Samuil, a staunch Communist and Red Army veteran, is torn from the homeland he once unwaveringly served. His two sons, Karl, who is eager for the emigrant's promised bounty, and Alec, a cavalier playboy, along with Alec's bride Polina, who has left her past behind to join her new family, navigate the labyrinth of love, ambition, and survival. Throughout this purgatorial sojourn, the Krasnanskys encounter a tapestry of experiences, from romance to deception, as they grapple with the inherent risks and rewards of reshaping their destinies. Bezmozgis weaves their tale with precision and a lyrical mastery that illuminates the larger narrative of displacement and the search for the elusive concept of a 'Free World'.