...Her son-in-law, Ippolit Matwejewitch Worobjaninow, is a former nobleman and a dandy who is currently wasting away as a small town magistrate in charge of civil marriages. He eagerly takes up the quest to find the treasure. Meanwhile, over the years, the twelve chairs have been dispersed all over the country. However, Worobjaninow is not the only one in pursuit of the treasure. Hot on its trail are Ostap Bender, a clever and colorful conman, as well as Father Fjodor, a priest to whom the wealthy aristocrat has also confessed her secret. Thus begins a wild chase that ranges from North to South, West to East, across water and land, from the country to the city.

В фильме «Двенадцать стульев» зрелищно соединились драматургия поиска сокровищ и погони с плотными образами людей и мест. Он рассказывает как вчера, так и сегодня, о реальности людей в странах СНГ и об универсальности наших действий. Таким образом, большая социальная утопия смешивается с индивидуальной надеждой на личное счастье, будь то деньги или любовь.