Strømgren, a dancer and choreographer, and Hodne, a stage director, send a theatre group on tour into a corner of the then Soviet Union, where Vassa, the leader, is increasingly despairing over fruitless ambitions and audiences lack of interest.

Destination Moscow is a lopsided view of the last decade of the Soviet Union, as seen through the eyes of an incorrigible idealist from the provinces. He dreams of conquering the glamorous stage of the Pushkin Theatre in Moscow. Art, love, hope and dreams become heavy burdens to bear when society is literally falling apart. Smuggling sugar puts some bread on the table.