This is a brilliant jest by the director. Human history is an uninterrupted series of brigandage, violence, and the struggle for power. We are currently in “Chapter VII,” yet the essence remains unchanged—only the costumes and weapons differ. Iosseliani remarks: “Do not imagine that things were better in the past, or that they will improve in the future. In essence, man is a brigand, perpetually striving to misappropriate another’s land, property, or life.”