Russians across the nation were glued to their TV sets on Monday to watch the annual screening of a movie most of them know by heart – “The Irony of Fate”. Many lines from the film have become catchphrases. But this year movie-goer

The original film was shot by renowned Russian director Eldar Ryazanov in 1975.
 
It opens with a prelude saying that such a story could only have taken place on New Year's Eve.
 
The script plays on the similarity of houses in Soviet times. Many people across the country lived in almost identical apartment buildings.
 
In the movie, a guy in Moscow and a girl in Saint Petersburg live in lookalike flats.  To add to the confusion, they both have the same address, albeit in different cities.
 
The action starts with four Moscow friends in a banya (Russian sauna) – something they always do on December 31st.
 
One year, when everyone's drunk, one of them goes to Saint Petersburg (then called Leningrad) by mistake.  The confusion that follows is the beginning of a love story. 
 
Thirty years later a new “Irony of Fate” has been shot. Its creators say the film is not a remake of the original, but a continuation of the story.
 
The new film is directed by Timur Bekmambetov, who is famous for his “Day Watch” and “Night Watch” fantasy thrillers. He says he's not afraid to be compared to the outstanding Eldar Ryazanov.
 
In the new film the action takes place in 2005. Fate continues to play jokes on the children of the main characters. There are many references to the original film, as its characters find themselves in the same situations.
 
The film's creators say the new “Irony of Fate” will not be shown on TV for at least two years. So the tradition of watching the original film at home with family and friends looks set to contiue for a while yet.