Elling (Per Christian Ellefsen), a sensitive, mentally disabled man, must move to a psychiatric institution when his mother, who has taken care of him for 40 years, dies. There, he meets Kjell (Sven Nordin), and the pair become friends. After two years, Elling and Kjell are allowed to leave the institution and live in an apartment in Oslo, Norway. At first, even the simplest tasks of independent life prove challenging, but soon the roommates begin to blossom in their own unique way.