Here's a movie so rich and heartbreaking, you may never be able to forget it.

Winner of numerous international film awards, this powerful tale is set in a present-day Russian orphanage where rich foreign couples go to "buy" young orphans illegally. One such orphan is Vanya (Kolya Spiridonov), whose soft curly locks and watchful eyes have captured the heart of a kind Italian couple.

The other kids in the orphanage consider Vanya very lucky — every single one of them dream of the same. They dub Vanya "The Italian".

Vanya is set to leave for his new Italian home in two months. But before that happens, he witnesses a distraught mother coming to the orphanage to look for a child she abandoned long ago — only to be told that her child has already been adopted and will never return.

Vanya is suddenly seized by strong urge to search for his real mother before he leaves Russia. So he sneaks out of the orphanage and sets off on a difficult journey to look for her, using the only clues she left behind years ago...

Shot in a gritty neo-realist style, The Italian offers an unflinching portrait of life in post-Glasnost Russia, where the ailing economy has created misery and despair for almost everyone. The film makes no bones about the failure of the country's institutions. But it still tries to instill some hope and faith — as embodied here, at least, by 6-year-old Vanya.

The Italian is not an easy film to watch, but it is an honest account of present-day life in Russia. For anyone who relish the neo-realist films of Vittorio De Sica (The Bicycle Thief), Roberto Rossellini (Rome, Open City) or more recent achievements by Iranian filmmakers like Majid Majidi (Children of Heaven), this film will reward and satisfy you.