Set largely during the years of the Soviet occupation and control of Czechoslovakia , where the British-educated Mr. Stoppard was born , '' Rock 'n ' Roll '' follows the entwined fortunes of Max -LRB- Brian Cox -RRB- , a Cambridge professor and devout member of the Communist Party , and his student disciple , Jan -LRB- Rufus Sewell -RRB- , a Czechoslovak who leaves Cambridge for Prague in 1968 in response to the arrival of Soviet tanks .