Kieslowski decided not to show us what Karol needed to steal before his flight back to Warsaw. It’s a plaster sculpture of a woman who bears some resemblance to Dominique that he saw in a store window.

We don’t immediately know where Karol is as we watch an Eastern European made van rumble through a snow-driven garbage mountain until reaching a peak. Four men get out of the van. We see a bunch of suitcases leave the van as well — apparently they’ve all just ripped off the LOT flight. One of the men says that they should split whatever they find five ways, with him getting two shares as a “handling fee.” Equalilty doesn’t even exist among thieves.

Of course Karol’s crate is one of them and given how heavy it is, they excitedly open it first. As they do, the plaster bust flies out down the hill. Karol then pops out. They express anger at it being a man inside. They check his watch and are further angered that it’s Russian made. Then they check his pockets and find only the 2 franc coin he’s carried around — and Karol fights aggressively to keep it. They take turns roughing him up a bit, then send him down the hill.

Karol, bloodied but alive, gathers his things, including the broken sculpture and walks on. He looks a flock of birds feasting on the garbage and declares that he’s home.

He eventually finds his way to a building — a hair styling salon named Karol … lit by a gaudy neon sign. As he reaches the building, Karol bangs on a window … where we discover his brother Jurek, played by Jerzy Stuhr, the same actor who played the brother in Dekalog 10. Stuhr is a long-time member of Kieslowski’s acting troupe — he starred in Kieslowski’s first major film “Camera Buff” and was also in “Blind Chance,” the movie made just prior to the Dekalog.

Jurek is surprised but delighted to see him. Karol is excited to see the neon sign — and Jurek declares “we’re in Europe now!” We see Karol laying down in the apartment adjacent to the beauty shop and recovering for awhile. Jurek brings him some broth, asks how he’s doing. Karol says he’ll need a few more days. A customer says that she’s heard Karol is back — as if he is a returning rock star … and in a sense he is.

He may not be fully recovered and back in the game, but there’s already a buzz about Karol’s return. The segment closes with him carefully glueing back together the pieces of the sculpture. The lines of the adhesive are visible, but oddly beautiful, like the Japanese art of Kintsugi.

Karol is also broken but perhaps in a better form as he returns to the place he knows best, among people who care for him at last.