When a successful pianist searches for his mother, he realizes there are no bad mothers—only zigzags of a difficult fate!

SYNOPSIS:

Canadian pianist Michael Roy becomes a Laureate of a prestigious competition. His adoptive father, wealthy businessman Jeffrey Roy and his wife Rachel, adopted him in Ukraine in the 90s during a time of total poverty. Rachel decided to keep the name given to the infant by his mother — Mikhail (Misha), the analog of the English name Michael. Michael is happy with his pregnant wife, Linda, but his world crashes after a call. A representative from a large law firm reports a large sum of money gifted by one Olivia Evans, who forbids disclosing her contact information. The lawyer hints to Michael that this money is from his biological mother.

Michael immediately accuses Jeffrey of years of lying about his mother's death. Jeffrey partially admits the deception, explaining it with the fear of losing his son. He is convinced that he saved Michael from poverty in Ukraine. This mercantile position leads to a major quarrel, and Michael decides to find Olivia Evans at all costs, suspecting she is his mother.

The plot takes us to Ukraine in 1992. Katya, a modest and educated accountant, starts a passionate affair with American partner Phil Cohen. Their relationship causes envy in the office.

In the present time, Michael's hacker friend, Richie, narrows the search for Olivia to twenty-five candidates in the USA. Michael recalls the lawyer's hint: "Go to the sounds of jazz!" He decides to fly to New Orleans, as one of the candidates is there. Michael's wife, Linda, reacts negatively to the mother's appearance due to her own difficult past with her mother. However, being an intelligent woman, she does not hinder his search.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey, distraught by the quarrel, gets drunk and confides in his housekeeper, Sallie. He complains that Michael does not appreciate everything he did, including paying a large sum to both the mother and officials for the adoption. Sallie, pointing to the expensive cognac Jeffrey drank, wisely points out that money is not the measure of love. She advises him to help his son, not hinder him.

We are back in Ukraine in 1992. Pregnant Katya is fired from her job due to her affair with Phil. Realizing that she had only been a toy for Phil, Katya desperately tries to see him. The security guard prevents her from entering, so she, pregnant, waits for Phil in the cold. When he leaves with Ivan (Katya's former director), Katya tries to run up to him, but the guard restrains her. The indifferent Phil and Ivan quickly get into an expensive car and drive away. Katya runs after the car, flinging open her coat and shouting, showing her large belly: "Look, that's your child!" The heartbreaking scene ends with Katya falling face down into the cold snow. Phil flies to the USA that very day, never to return to Katya. Katya is shaken by Phil's actions, left pregnant and alone with a cruel world: an alcoholic father, unemployment, hopelessness, and poverty lie ahead.

Michael finds the "Evans" jazz club in New Orleans and, to his surprise, meets Olivia Evans — a beautiful, elderly African American woman instead of the white woman he expected. Olivia explains that although she is not his mother, she did indeed give the money. Olivia tells Michael the story of her friendship with his mother, Katerina Golub, in 1998, when Olivia protected Katya from robbers during their first meeting. Katya later confessed to Olivia that she had given up her child.

Later, Olivia suffered a tragedy: her little son, Adam, was hit by a car, requiring urgent, expensive surgery in Baltimore. Olivia didn't have the necessary sum. Katya, without hesitation, gave her almost all the money she had from selling her apartment in Ukraine (inherited after her father's death). These funds could have fulfilled Katya's dream of opening her own café in New Orleans. Katya then returned to Ukraine, and her traces were lost. Years later, Olivia realized that this act was Katya's way to redeem the sin of selling her own son.

Olivia kept the truth secret and acted through a lawyer because, after she became rich and started looking for Katya, she learned the terrible news: the village in Eastern Ukraine where Katya settled was burned to the ground in 2023 as a result of Russian artillery shelling. She believed Katya was dead.

Upon returning home, Michael learns that Linda gave birth to their daughter. Family and close friends gather for a celebration. Michael and Jeffrey re-establish their relationship. Jeffrey expresses doubt about Katerina's death, saying: "But no one has seen Katerina's grave, have they?"

A few days later, an aged Katya arrives at Jeffrey's house. Jeffrey had secretly found her using his connections. Katya tells her life story, including the dramatic episode in 2023, when she, risking her life, saved a wounded Ukrainian soldier, Orest, by hiding him from Russian soldiers. After her house was destroyed, Orest's father, Bohdan, helped her emigrate to Canada. Jeffrey is astonished by the story: a woman who gave up her own son in her youth later saved the lives of two other sons!

Jeffrey calls Michael. Katya and Jeffrey stroll and chat on the road near Jeffrey's house, awaiting Michael's arrival. On the snowy road, Michael loses control and crashes into a pole. Frenzied with fear for her son, Katya runs toward the car! She runs even more desperately than she once ran after Phil's departing car! (flashback!) Suddenly, she suffers a heart attack and falls into the snow! Michael emerges from the dented car unharmed and rushes to his mother! Together with Jeffrey, they bend over the fragile woman lying in the snow!

In the hospital, the doctor reports that Katya is stable and will recover. An exhausted Michael, sitting in the car, hands Jeffrey the photo of young Katya and Olivia embracing given to him by Olivia and asks: "She is beautiful, isn't she?" Jeffrey responds with a kind smile: "She is!" Michael closes his eyes and sees a vivid dream—in which he, little boy Misha, runs across a green meadow to his young mother, Katya, who says: "Time to go home, Misha! Let's go home!" They walk away, holding hands. Final Credits: My Beloved Bad Mother.

MY BELOVED BAD MOTHER