Secret Weapon (2019) - full transcript
It's the Second World War. The Red Army had to retreat in a hurry and left their top secret weapon, "Katyusha", behind. A group of 8 soldiers is sent to do everything possible not to let "Katyusha" get into the hands of the Germans.
Ermakov, get out!
Now, face the wall.
So, can I give you a hug now?
Aren't you afraid...
to hug the enemy of the people?
Oh, go to hell!
There is a task for you.
We don't have people.
We lost many.
The rest are at the front,
or you know where.
These are reliable people.
When do we have
to be ready, sir?
In two days at the most.
And the captain?
Knocked down a rank.
The party card?
What kind of mortar gun is it?
It's a top-secret project.
A powerful launching unit
on the load-carrying vehicle.
Made at the Communist
International factory.
The first salvo was on
July 14th, near Rudnia.
The area of destruction is huge.
How did it get there?
Oh, you'll find out soon.
I admit I'm guilty.
I'm ready to be punished.
Sergeant!
Take the convict away now.
Hands behind your
back. Dismissed.
Wait a second, soldier.
Yes?
Can you show us the place where
you left the launching unit?
I could find it with
my eyes closed.
Galiyev. An NKVD High
School student.
The officers' pentathlon-
swimming, running, shooting,
grenade throwing,
horseback riding.
The leader of the group.
He has initiative.
At the moment, his detachment
is the most effective one.
Belous.
Moscow Institute
of Physical Culture graduate.
Combat sambo master of sports.
His teacher was
Spiridonov himself.
Second place at the All-Soviet
competitions in 1937.
Knysh. Boxing master of sports.
He has the most endurance.
Instant reaction;
a strong puncher
with both hands.
Ivanov!
Belous, go on!
Very good!
Altynov. A skier and a hunter.
Has a great sense of
direction in the woods.
A winner of the military land
navigation army competitions.
Subbotina.
She's an archery master
of sports.
She's also a university
student majoring in law.
Which one can use a radio?
Everyone has been trained.
I will need an interpreter, too.
May I come in?
Yes.
Are you Ermakov?
That's right.
Anna Reiner. I'm
your interpreter.
Fall in!
The password for
recognition is "100."
I will explain.
For example, I name
a figure of 30,
and you must answer with another
figure which adds up to 100.
So, is that clear?
Reiner?
Seventy.
- Knysh.
- One.
It's 99.
Come on, jump now!
- Repack it.
- Yes, sir.
Tighten this strap.
Right dress!
Attention!
Group, here's the
operation order.
"The 'Agate' group,
consisting of eight people,
the commander of
the group being
State Security
Captain Ermakov..."
- Yeah.
- "...has an objective
to be air landed behind enemy
lines, in the grid 23/14.
Then to move to the area
of the village Vyselki...
to locate the BM-13
launching unit,
and to destroy it by
means of demolition,
or in some other
possible manner.
After completing the
main task,
the aforementioned group
is not to return back.
The group is to stay behind
the enemy lines.
Major General Sukhotin."
At ease.
At ease.
Is everything clear?
Yes, sir.
Get ready, everyone.
Get ready, everyone!
Here!
All right, go ahead
now! Let's go!
Come on!
Come on! Let's go!
Come on! Let's go!
Seventy.
- Thirty
- Are you OK?
I'm fine. Are the
others with you?
Knysh and Altynov are
looking for P.D.M.M.
Listen to me.
We need to walk five
kilometers through
the woods to get
to the mortar gun.
Rally point is three
kilometers away.
When we jumped out,
the wind settled in
south-west, so...
second group drifted
to grid five.
Forty!
- Rouslan, it's me!
- Answer by the rules. Forty.
- It's 60.
- Come here and help.
- The other one?
- No.
Who?
Siavris.
- Alive?
- I think he's OK.
- Siavris, get your knife.
- What for?
To cut your shrouds.
Come on, cut the shrouds.
The Germans are coming!
Come on, take him down!
Let's go! Siavris, hurry up!
Cut it!
Hurry up!
My arm!
What? Are you OK?
I don't know!
I don't know!
- All right, go. I'll cover you.
- OK.
Get up.
Hold it, Belous! Here.
We can't go into action.
We won't make it
out alive if we do.
I'll lead them away.
Go. Go now.
Let's go.
The first rally point is here.
- Knysh.
- Aye!
Stay and wait for the group.
Subbotina and
Altynov, follow me.
Yes, sir.
And I said, "Go!", but the
animal didn't move an inch.
It's 99.
Drop your weapon!
- Drop your weapon!
- Easy, easy, easy, buddy!
Easy!
- Drop your weapon, now!
- Easy.
Stay put.
Stop it!
Hey, stop it, guys!
Hey, I'm a friend!
What are you doing, you guys?
I'm Russian! Hey!
I'm not the enemy or
a policeman!
I'm...
I'm a recon scout...
from Moscow!
Air landed last night!
You hear that? He tells a
new fairy-tale.
But it's true!
It's true! You can look!
It's inside my collar!
Gnat, hold on a second.
Check it out.
Give that to me.
How many of you recon guys
landed here, huh?
Quite a few.
Why the hustle, then?
- What do you mean?
- Why did they send you here?
I don't know.
I swear I don't.
We were to be told
after we landed.
It could be true.
OK, so that's why this duffel
bag is stuffed with food,
concentrates, butter,
anything you need.
OK, buddy.
You're going with us now.
- Ninety.
- Ten.
Are there two of you?
Two and a half.
Can you walk?
Yes, sir.
I rested a bit, sir.
Comrade Captain, I
beg to report.
Go ahead.
Reiner.
Looks like she was killed.
Here. This is the place,
Comrade Commander.
There, look! The
brushwood is scattered.
Maybe you mixed
something up?
They towed it with the APC.
There's only one way here.
To the village of Vyselki.
Let's go straight
through the woods.
Come on!
So? What happened, then?
Two salvos near Rudnia.
So powerful -
wails, bangs, columns of fire.
All hell broke loose.
And then we were
forced to retreat,
right after the
mechanized corps.
After that they
churned up the earth,
and so we got stuck.
And we found
ourselves encircled.
We had to take out
the mortar guns.
So we went ahead.
Mine was the last one left.
Suddenly, the
"Messers" came flying.
The Boche
started to fire.
Killed... everyone.
The commander was killed, too.
What did you do?
I jumped in the car
and then I left.
They followed me.
They fired and fired.
I don't remember getting
into the lake.
I just remember
the truck going underwater.
The explosives,
they were left under the seat.
Why didn't you take
them out, huh?
Because I can't swim.
I was always afraid of water.
What kind of a mortar was it?
It's called "Katyusha."
Comrade Captain, is
that the unit we need?
It is. It's time to act now.
Attention. Listen to me.
Altynov, the tower!
Altynov, blow up the
vehicle now!
We have to retreat!
Whoa. Whoa.
Whoa. Whoa.
Easy. Easy, easy.
Easy.
Easy.
Who's there?
Come out of there!
Come out!
On the cart, now.
Come on. Come on.
Hurry up. Hurry up.
Lie down.
Oh, God, how thin she is!
Come on, now, eat.
She's not thin. All ballet
dancers have a regime.
Where did the two of
you come from?
We're from Leningrad.
How did you end up here?
We came to visit
our grandparents.
For the summer, to Bystrovka.
And then the war started.
And where are your
grandparents now?
The Germans bayoneted them.
Dead in their yard.
Oh, dear Lord!
Are there Germans here?
Not in our village.
They're stationed in Vyselki.
I'm ready.
Code the message.
Seventeenth to third.
The group is at
the scheduled place right now.
intensive searches are
being continued.
Effective...
and mission-capable.
Entrusted task
will be completed at any cost.
The mortar gun left
at the territory
occupied by the enemy
will be destroyed.
Group Commander,
Captain Ermakov.
Period.
The woods are good
here. Not many gnats.
No animals, though.
Sesingaly, tell me,
where are you from?
From Altai. I'm Kazakh.
That's far away.
And I was born near Putyvl.
- Ukrainian?
- No. I'm Goryun.
- Who?
- It's an ethnic group.
Well, it's not very big at all.
And with this damn war
going on and on...
It will be over soon.
That's what you
thought back home.
We got out of the encirclement,
two weeks walking in enemy rear.
Our troops retreated
back to Moscow.
No, it won't be over soon.
So I guess we're
gonna fight, then.
Do you know how
many boys like you
were taken to the
front back in June?
They were young,
singing songs and laughing.
They wanted to fight and win.
And then they were all sent
under these tanks.
- Hold it, Siavris.
- What's wrong, Commander?
They have a right to know.
Incoming!
Retreat!
Siavris!
Slava!
Slava!
- Slava, where does it hurt?
- My leg!
- What's that?
- His leg.
All right, easy, easy, easy.
Come on. Let me
take your boot off.
Here. Come on, come on, come on!
Nice and easy.
Here we go. All right.
It's all right.
Knife.
There, there.
There.
There.
Seems like the bone's OK.
You OK?
I'm fine, I'm fine.
Doesn't hurt at all.
- It's OK, Slava.
- Yeah, I'm fine. Take your time.
- Are the rest of you all right?
- Yes.
- OK, just a sec.
- Altynov, I need water.
Now the bandage.
They were aiming at us.
Must have spotted us
when we sent the message.
Is the transmitter damaged?
No.
Altynov...
listen to my order.
Take the radio.
You must go now.
Here, to this grid.
Then you must connect with
Moscow every two hours.
- Is everything clear?
- Yes, sir.
Go ahead.
Yes, sir.
Subbotina, the place
where Knysh was left,
can you find it?
Yes, Comrade Captain, sir.
It's in the south-west.
Yes. It's grid five.
Go ahead.
Yes, sir.
Belous.
Can you walk?
Yes, sir.
Off you go, then.
The coast is clear.
Let's go.
- Tikhon!
- What?
Look. Are those
partisans... or gangsters?
Mmmmm.
That's some good stuff.
Nice and strong. Good job.
What do you think you're doing?
What are you doing, you jerk?
Get some liquor, some moonshine.
Come on. We need to
warm up. Move it!
But I don't have a drop
of alcohol!
Oh, don't you
really? None?
No. We don't make it.
Stop lying, you two!
Just hand it over!
So, that's how you
fight the war?
Shut up!
It's quite a place that
you guys got here!
Holy cow!
Hey, guys!
Guys, I found it!
Hehe. Well, well! So,
you do make moonshine,
you no-good
Boches' bootlicker.
That's turpentine.
It's not for drinking.
It's for paint and varnish.
A craftsman?
A carpenter.
Look at your soldier!
His rifle butt, it's cracked.
He should give it to me.
I can... I'll fix it in no time.
Oh, what a surprise.
Look who's here.
Well, come out.
Come on, come on, come on.
- Liova...
- Come on!
Don't be shy, we're all friends.
My niece and nephew
from Vyselki.
You were hiding Jews?
My sister's kids.
Well, you must...
be rewarded for
that, my dear man.
What's your name?
Larisa.
He's my brother.
How old is he, then?
I'm almost 12.
OK. Now, listen to my order.
You are now members
of my unit.
We'll be fighting together,
all right? Let's go.
Come on. Come on, let's go!
Come on, come on.
You beautiful thing.
It's 50!
It's 50! Knysh!
- Are you partisans?
- Yeah, we are.
Who's this tied-up
guy, a traitor?
Uh huh.
Do you think they're
gonna give me a gun?
Of course they will,
after you take an oath.
Here.
- I found this.
- Did he desert?
No, he couldn't.
- Something must have happened.
- Mmhmm.
Don't stigmatize the guy right
away. Maybe he's in trouble?
- Stop talking, Siavris.
- Yes, sir.
Can you walk?
Yes, sir.
Very good.
Let's dislocate to the bridge
observation point.
Follow me.
Slava, take this.
Move it, move it, move it.
Come on, come on, come on.
So, you're not from here, huh?
We're from Leningrad.
Have you ever been there?
Sure thing.
Gnat, you're the next to
bring water.
I'm not a water boy, Sergeant.
- What?
- You heard me.
You're way too bold, dude.
What will the next order be?
Well, now it's time for
a suitability assessment.
A hundred meters.
Run from here to that
tree way over there.
Go on, I'll time you. Ready?
Get set. Ready?
I'm ready.
And go!
Untie me!
Come on!
Untie my hands, right now!
Hurry up!
Take that!
Ferz!
[heavy breathing[
It's OK. Nobody will
hurt you anymore.
Liova.
Liova...
Liova was very talented.
He was...
He was even told he'd...
become the new Tsiolkovsky.
He...
Once, he made...
he made a Zeppelin model
for our dad's birthday.
Don't cry. They've
already paid for that.
Here they are. They got moving.
Looks like we've stirred up
that hornets' nest.
So many of them.
They must have hidden
your "Katyusha."
I wish we knew where.
They'll take it to the station
sooner or later.
What do we do, Commander?
Belous, Galiyev.
Come here.
Come on!
Wait for me, guys!
You OK?
- Can't walk anymore.
- Where are you taking me, huh?
Shut up!
I was happy when I saw you guys.
I thought, "Thank
God, our troops came!"
Because we've been
waiting and waiting.
Stop talking, now!
Oh, come on!
Give me a grenade.
What are you up to?
- None of your business.
- Yeah?
So, you like being
under German rule, huh?
Oh, no way!
It wasn't my choice, you know.
I was forced.
It just happened!
You know what?
My wife and I were going to
join the partisans,
and then you came here.
Comrade Captain!
They got moving.
They're going somewhere.
Forty.
And 60.
Prisoner snatched.
Mission accomplished.
Comrade Kovzik.
That over there is the barn
where they put the machine.
The one they pulled out
of the lake.
They're coming for us.
Looking for you.
Well, I mean, for us.
Stay down, all right?
They're sure we're
in this grid now.
Commander! They're leaving!
They spotted Altynov.
Good job, Sesingaly.
Commander!
The deminers!
Look, they're checking the road.
What does that mean?
It means, Siavris...
that right after they
check the road...
they will start transporting
the launching unit.
Galiyev, follow me!
The wire's long enough
to reach the bank.
When you attach the charge,
retreat downstream, OK?
Don't worry, Comrade Captain.
I'm much more comfortable
in the water.
I lived near the
sea, in Feodosia.
Listen, you take care, Galiyev.
What on earth can happen
to me, Captain?
He won't make it.
What?
So, where's your launching unit?
Maybe it's in the wrong place?
It's the right place, I swear.
You see the car tracks?
They had to blow up
the unit here.
- I don't understand.
- What do we do now?
No idea.
Come on, let's
spend the night here
and follow the tracks tomorrow.
Come on.
They brought all the villagers
to reconstruct that bridge.
They surely don't waste time.
Maybe they won't make it
before it gets dark?
Darkness isn't an obstacle.
The security of the barn
has been increased.
We should blow it up
with the machine inside.
We used all the explosives
for the bridge.
I left a box with TNT
under the seat in the truck.
It's gonna be enough
for five cars.
The Germans must have
found it by now.
Yeah, we can't go
there in daytime.
Does it hurt?
It's OK.
Here, take this.
Will make it easier for you.
- Thank you.
- Nothing to thank me for.
We'll attack when it gets dark.
Now, listen.
If the charge is under the seat,
we'll blow up the
truck right there.
If not...
we'll drive it further away.
And then what?
And then we'll think.
The Germans are gonna catch us
while we think.
You better sink it.
Uh huh.
He already tried that.
Not the best option.
You had to sink it in our swamp.
There's a swamp here. It's about
eight or nine kilometers away.
A farm tractor sunk
there in 1939.
It was gone in the blink
of an eye,
both the tractor and a
trailer.
My nephew Pasha, the driver,
God bless his soul,
had no chance of getting out.
Can we drive there?
Yes, there's a corduroy.
A what?
It's a log path, right
over the swamp.
All right.
We'll go to the swamp.
We have to take down
the sentries quietly.
I'll do it without a sound.
From 50 meters or so.
All right, then.
We have no choice. We'll
have to attack.
After it gets dark.
Here, put it on.
It's getting cold.
Thank you.
- Hey, don't overcook it!
- It didn't even boil yet.
Moshkin.
And I thought my last
name was funny,
until I met Moshkin.
What is your last name?
Fedia Knysh.
People laughed at me.
Well, they still do.
They say I'll hardly get a wife
with such a last name.
"Pish, pish. Fedia Knysh."
Sounds good for a scarecrow.
It's boiling already!
Take it off the fire!
Come on, come on!
All right, all right.
Good. Looks good, huh, guys?
There, there.
It's overcooked.
Here.
- What about you?
- Later.
Thank you.
Galiyev is so lucky.
He was an orphan.
No one to be notified.
I can only imagine
what would happen to my parents
if they got a death
notice about me.
Dad's got heart
problems, and Mom...
I didn't even get a chance
to say my goodbyes.
My brother was about to get
married, and I came here.
And my aunt promised
to give me
her wedding ring
when I get married.
She got it from
her great-grandma.
Rings are just a
bourgeois relic.
- Really?
- Mmhmm.
I guess that depends
on the bride.
You got a family?
I'm a bigamist.
I've got one family
in the village
and one family in
the city.
My wife was to give
birth in July.
I don't know what it is -
a boy or a girl.
Your parents?
No. They... The typhoid took
them in the '20s.
And yours?
My mom's in Leningrad.
Oh. The Germans won't get
us there, for sure.
Come on.
Subbotina, take the weapon.
Belous, take up defense.
No, wait!
Come on! Siavris!
Siavris!
What's in there? The
explosives?
It's empty.
No explosives.
Start it. We're leaving.
Comrade Captain, turn it, sir.
Give me light, Kovzik.
Hold it!
I need light.
Just a sec.
OK, OK, OK.
Now I know why it didn't start.
They didn't know we connect
plus to the ground and
minus to the circuit.
Just a second.
- Come on, Siavris! Hurry!
- Almost done.
- You OK?
- I'm fine!
The ammo!
Vika!
All right, I'm almost done.
I'm done! Now, turn it again.
It's working!
What is it?
That's it. We're done.
We're all out of petrol.
It's no use.
I told you, there's no petrol.
- Siavris.
- What?
- Get behind the wheel.
- What for?
We'll take the truck
to the galley.
Come on, Kovzik, push it.
Don't worry, we'll make it.
Come on.
Come on, come on, come on!
That's it.
Enough.
Kovzik!
Where's Kovzik?
He's gone.
Hey, you, come here.
I don't understand.
Nicht verschtein.
Officer, I'm going home.
I was at my goddaughter's
party in that village.
I don't understand.
Where are the saboteurs?
Tell me, man.
You don't think this machine is
worth more than the kids' lives?
If this unit falls into enemy
hands, it will take more lives.
- We have an order.
- An order!
They're kids, for God's sake!
Have you ever had kids
in your life?
I had...
a son.
He died?
He was killed.
My wife, too.
When our outpost was bombed.
I'm sorry.
And now what?
Moshkin!
Moshkin! Moshkin, get up!
- Come on!
- What is it?
Move it!
So?
That's it.
- Comrade Commander!
- Knysh!
It's me!
- Ninety-nine!
- And one, Knysh!
- I brought help!
- Private Moshkin!
It's Kovzik!
Open the door!
Make sure you tie it down tight.
- Thank you.
- God bless you.
Gee!
Giddyap!
Gee!
Giddyap!
Wait! Wait!
Whoa.
Wait for me! I'll go with you!
I'll come back for you.
I swear I will.
Gee!
Giddyap!
Gee!
- Giddyap!
- Fyodor!
- Gee!
- Fyodor!
You have a good name! Do
you hear me?
It will be OK!
And I don't think it's
funny at all.
Gee!
Whoa.
Now we'll make it for sure.
Start it, Knysh!
Done!
Now, go! We'll cover you!
All right!
Let's go!
What is it, Commander?
I don't know.
I can't feel my legs.
Oh, my God!
Come on, let's switch places.
Can you take care
of switching gears?
Yeah.
Then right into second.
- Gee!
- Head to the glade!
They won't make it through!
- Gee!
- Come on, to the right! Come on!
Gee!
- Come on, faster!
- Gee!
Hey! Hey!
Knysh! Knysh! You OK?
- You OK?
- Yeah.
- I'm fine.
- Where's the group?
- I'm fine
- Where's the...
Into first, then.
Now, face the wall.
So, can I give you a hug now?
Aren't you afraid...
to hug the enemy of the people?
Oh, go to hell!
There is a task for you.
We don't have people.
We lost many.
The rest are at the front,
or you know where.
These are reliable people.
When do we have
to be ready, sir?
In two days at the most.
And the captain?
Knocked down a rank.
The party card?
What kind of mortar gun is it?
It's a top-secret project.
A powerful launching unit
on the load-carrying vehicle.
Made at the Communist
International factory.
The first salvo was on
July 14th, near Rudnia.
The area of destruction is huge.
How did it get there?
Oh, you'll find out soon.
I admit I'm guilty.
I'm ready to be punished.
Sergeant!
Take the convict away now.
Hands behind your
back. Dismissed.
Wait a second, soldier.
Yes?
Can you show us the place where
you left the launching unit?
I could find it with
my eyes closed.
Galiyev. An NKVD High
School student.
The officers' pentathlon-
swimming, running, shooting,
grenade throwing,
horseback riding.
The leader of the group.
He has initiative.
At the moment, his detachment
is the most effective one.
Belous.
Moscow Institute
of Physical Culture graduate.
Combat sambo master of sports.
His teacher was
Spiridonov himself.
Second place at the All-Soviet
competitions in 1937.
Knysh. Boxing master of sports.
He has the most endurance.
Instant reaction;
a strong puncher
with both hands.
Ivanov!
Belous, go on!
Very good!
Altynov. A skier and a hunter.
Has a great sense of
direction in the woods.
A winner of the military land
navigation army competitions.
Subbotina.
She's an archery master
of sports.
She's also a university
student majoring in law.
Which one can use a radio?
Everyone has been trained.
I will need an interpreter, too.
May I come in?
Yes.
Are you Ermakov?
That's right.
Anna Reiner. I'm
your interpreter.
Fall in!
The password for
recognition is "100."
I will explain.
For example, I name
a figure of 30,
and you must answer with another
figure which adds up to 100.
So, is that clear?
Reiner?
Seventy.
- Knysh.
- One.
It's 99.
Come on, jump now!
- Repack it.
- Yes, sir.
Tighten this strap.
Right dress!
Attention!
Group, here's the
operation order.
"The 'Agate' group,
consisting of eight people,
the commander of
the group being
State Security
Captain Ermakov..."
- Yeah.
- "...has an objective
to be air landed behind enemy
lines, in the grid 23/14.
Then to move to the area
of the village Vyselki...
to locate the BM-13
launching unit,
and to destroy it by
means of demolition,
or in some other
possible manner.
After completing the
main task,
the aforementioned group
is not to return back.
The group is to stay behind
the enemy lines.
Major General Sukhotin."
At ease.
At ease.
Is everything clear?
Yes, sir.
Get ready, everyone.
Get ready, everyone!
Here!
All right, go ahead
now! Let's go!
Come on!
Come on! Let's go!
Come on! Let's go!
Seventy.
- Thirty
- Are you OK?
I'm fine. Are the
others with you?
Knysh and Altynov are
looking for P.D.M.M.
Listen to me.
We need to walk five
kilometers through
the woods to get
to the mortar gun.
Rally point is three
kilometers away.
When we jumped out,
the wind settled in
south-west, so...
second group drifted
to grid five.
Forty!
- Rouslan, it's me!
- Answer by the rules. Forty.
- It's 60.
- Come here and help.
- The other one?
- No.
Who?
Siavris.
- Alive?
- I think he's OK.
- Siavris, get your knife.
- What for?
To cut your shrouds.
Come on, cut the shrouds.
The Germans are coming!
Come on, take him down!
Let's go! Siavris, hurry up!
Cut it!
Hurry up!
My arm!
What? Are you OK?
I don't know!
I don't know!
- All right, go. I'll cover you.
- OK.
Get up.
Hold it, Belous! Here.
We can't go into action.
We won't make it
out alive if we do.
I'll lead them away.
Go. Go now.
Let's go.
The first rally point is here.
- Knysh.
- Aye!
Stay and wait for the group.
Subbotina and
Altynov, follow me.
Yes, sir.
And I said, "Go!", but the
animal didn't move an inch.
It's 99.
Drop your weapon!
- Drop your weapon!
- Easy, easy, easy, buddy!
Easy!
- Drop your weapon, now!
- Easy.
Stay put.
Stop it!
Hey, stop it, guys!
Hey, I'm a friend!
What are you doing, you guys?
I'm Russian! Hey!
I'm not the enemy or
a policeman!
I'm...
I'm a recon scout...
from Moscow!
Air landed last night!
You hear that? He tells a
new fairy-tale.
But it's true!
It's true! You can look!
It's inside my collar!
Gnat, hold on a second.
Check it out.
Give that to me.
How many of you recon guys
landed here, huh?
Quite a few.
Why the hustle, then?
- What do you mean?
- Why did they send you here?
I don't know.
I swear I don't.
We were to be told
after we landed.
It could be true.
OK, so that's why this duffel
bag is stuffed with food,
concentrates, butter,
anything you need.
OK, buddy.
You're going with us now.
- Ninety.
- Ten.
Are there two of you?
Two and a half.
Can you walk?
Yes, sir.
I rested a bit, sir.
Comrade Captain, I
beg to report.
Go ahead.
Reiner.
Looks like she was killed.
Here. This is the place,
Comrade Commander.
There, look! The
brushwood is scattered.
Maybe you mixed
something up?
They towed it with the APC.
There's only one way here.
To the village of Vyselki.
Let's go straight
through the woods.
Come on!
So? What happened, then?
Two salvos near Rudnia.
So powerful -
wails, bangs, columns of fire.
All hell broke loose.
And then we were
forced to retreat,
right after the
mechanized corps.
After that they
churned up the earth,
and so we got stuck.
And we found
ourselves encircled.
We had to take out
the mortar guns.
So we went ahead.
Mine was the last one left.
Suddenly, the
"Messers" came flying.
The Boche
started to fire.
Killed... everyone.
The commander was killed, too.
What did you do?
I jumped in the car
and then I left.
They followed me.
They fired and fired.
I don't remember getting
into the lake.
I just remember
the truck going underwater.
The explosives,
they were left under the seat.
Why didn't you take
them out, huh?
Because I can't swim.
I was always afraid of water.
What kind of a mortar was it?
It's called "Katyusha."
Comrade Captain, is
that the unit we need?
It is. It's time to act now.
Attention. Listen to me.
Altynov, the tower!
Altynov, blow up the
vehicle now!
We have to retreat!
Whoa. Whoa.
Whoa. Whoa.
Easy. Easy, easy.
Easy.
Easy.
Who's there?
Come out of there!
Come out!
On the cart, now.
Come on. Come on.
Hurry up. Hurry up.
Lie down.
Oh, God, how thin she is!
Come on, now, eat.
She's not thin. All ballet
dancers have a regime.
Where did the two of
you come from?
We're from Leningrad.
How did you end up here?
We came to visit
our grandparents.
For the summer, to Bystrovka.
And then the war started.
And where are your
grandparents now?
The Germans bayoneted them.
Dead in their yard.
Oh, dear Lord!
Are there Germans here?
Not in our village.
They're stationed in Vyselki.
I'm ready.
Code the message.
Seventeenth to third.
The group is at
the scheduled place right now.
intensive searches are
being continued.
Effective...
and mission-capable.
Entrusted task
will be completed at any cost.
The mortar gun left
at the territory
occupied by the enemy
will be destroyed.
Group Commander,
Captain Ermakov.
Period.
The woods are good
here. Not many gnats.
No animals, though.
Sesingaly, tell me,
where are you from?
From Altai. I'm Kazakh.
That's far away.
And I was born near Putyvl.
- Ukrainian?
- No. I'm Goryun.
- Who?
- It's an ethnic group.
Well, it's not very big at all.
And with this damn war
going on and on...
It will be over soon.
That's what you
thought back home.
We got out of the encirclement,
two weeks walking in enemy rear.
Our troops retreated
back to Moscow.
No, it won't be over soon.
So I guess we're
gonna fight, then.
Do you know how
many boys like you
were taken to the
front back in June?
They were young,
singing songs and laughing.
They wanted to fight and win.
And then they were all sent
under these tanks.
- Hold it, Siavris.
- What's wrong, Commander?
They have a right to know.
Incoming!
Retreat!
Siavris!
Slava!
Slava!
- Slava, where does it hurt?
- My leg!
- What's that?
- His leg.
All right, easy, easy, easy.
Come on. Let me
take your boot off.
Here. Come on, come on, come on!
Nice and easy.
Here we go. All right.
It's all right.
Knife.
There, there.
There.
There.
Seems like the bone's OK.
You OK?
I'm fine, I'm fine.
Doesn't hurt at all.
- It's OK, Slava.
- Yeah, I'm fine. Take your time.
- Are the rest of you all right?
- Yes.
- OK, just a sec.
- Altynov, I need water.
Now the bandage.
They were aiming at us.
Must have spotted us
when we sent the message.
Is the transmitter damaged?
No.
Altynov...
listen to my order.
Take the radio.
You must go now.
Here, to this grid.
Then you must connect with
Moscow every two hours.
- Is everything clear?
- Yes, sir.
Go ahead.
Yes, sir.
Subbotina, the place
where Knysh was left,
can you find it?
Yes, Comrade Captain, sir.
It's in the south-west.
Yes. It's grid five.
Go ahead.
Yes, sir.
Belous.
Can you walk?
Yes, sir.
Off you go, then.
The coast is clear.
Let's go.
- Tikhon!
- What?
Look. Are those
partisans... or gangsters?
Mmmmm.
That's some good stuff.
Nice and strong. Good job.
What do you think you're doing?
What are you doing, you jerk?
Get some liquor, some moonshine.
Come on. We need to
warm up. Move it!
But I don't have a drop
of alcohol!
Oh, don't you
really? None?
No. We don't make it.
Stop lying, you two!
Just hand it over!
So, that's how you
fight the war?
Shut up!
It's quite a place that
you guys got here!
Holy cow!
Hey, guys!
Guys, I found it!
Hehe. Well, well! So,
you do make moonshine,
you no-good
Boches' bootlicker.
That's turpentine.
It's not for drinking.
It's for paint and varnish.
A craftsman?
A carpenter.
Look at your soldier!
His rifle butt, it's cracked.
He should give it to me.
I can... I'll fix it in no time.
Oh, what a surprise.
Look who's here.
Well, come out.
Come on, come on, come on.
- Liova...
- Come on!
Don't be shy, we're all friends.
My niece and nephew
from Vyselki.
You were hiding Jews?
My sister's kids.
Well, you must...
be rewarded for
that, my dear man.
What's your name?
Larisa.
He's my brother.
How old is he, then?
I'm almost 12.
OK. Now, listen to my order.
You are now members
of my unit.
We'll be fighting together,
all right? Let's go.
Come on. Come on, let's go!
Come on, come on.
You beautiful thing.
It's 50!
It's 50! Knysh!
- Are you partisans?
- Yeah, we are.
Who's this tied-up
guy, a traitor?
Uh huh.
Do you think they're
gonna give me a gun?
Of course they will,
after you take an oath.
Here.
- I found this.
- Did he desert?
No, he couldn't.
- Something must have happened.
- Mmhmm.
Don't stigmatize the guy right
away. Maybe he's in trouble?
- Stop talking, Siavris.
- Yes, sir.
Can you walk?
Yes, sir.
Very good.
Let's dislocate to the bridge
observation point.
Follow me.
Slava, take this.
Move it, move it, move it.
Come on, come on, come on.
So, you're not from here, huh?
We're from Leningrad.
Have you ever been there?
Sure thing.
Gnat, you're the next to
bring water.
I'm not a water boy, Sergeant.
- What?
- You heard me.
You're way too bold, dude.
What will the next order be?
Well, now it's time for
a suitability assessment.
A hundred meters.
Run from here to that
tree way over there.
Go on, I'll time you. Ready?
Get set. Ready?
I'm ready.
And go!
Untie me!
Come on!
Untie my hands, right now!
Hurry up!
Take that!
Ferz!
[heavy breathing[
It's OK. Nobody will
hurt you anymore.
Liova.
Liova...
Liova was very talented.
He was...
He was even told he'd...
become the new Tsiolkovsky.
He...
Once, he made...
he made a Zeppelin model
for our dad's birthday.
Don't cry. They've
already paid for that.
Here they are. They got moving.
Looks like we've stirred up
that hornets' nest.
So many of them.
They must have hidden
your "Katyusha."
I wish we knew where.
They'll take it to the station
sooner or later.
What do we do, Commander?
Belous, Galiyev.
Come here.
Come on!
Wait for me, guys!
You OK?
- Can't walk anymore.
- Where are you taking me, huh?
Shut up!
I was happy when I saw you guys.
I thought, "Thank
God, our troops came!"
Because we've been
waiting and waiting.
Stop talking, now!
Oh, come on!
Give me a grenade.
What are you up to?
- None of your business.
- Yeah?
So, you like being
under German rule, huh?
Oh, no way!
It wasn't my choice, you know.
I was forced.
It just happened!
You know what?
My wife and I were going to
join the partisans,
and then you came here.
Comrade Captain!
They got moving.
They're going somewhere.
Forty.
And 60.
Prisoner snatched.
Mission accomplished.
Comrade Kovzik.
That over there is the barn
where they put the machine.
The one they pulled out
of the lake.
They're coming for us.
Looking for you.
Well, I mean, for us.
Stay down, all right?
They're sure we're
in this grid now.
Commander! They're leaving!
They spotted Altynov.
Good job, Sesingaly.
Commander!
The deminers!
Look, they're checking the road.
What does that mean?
It means, Siavris...
that right after they
check the road...
they will start transporting
the launching unit.
Galiyev, follow me!
The wire's long enough
to reach the bank.
When you attach the charge,
retreat downstream, OK?
Don't worry, Comrade Captain.
I'm much more comfortable
in the water.
I lived near the
sea, in Feodosia.
Listen, you take care, Galiyev.
What on earth can happen
to me, Captain?
He won't make it.
What?
So, where's your launching unit?
Maybe it's in the wrong place?
It's the right place, I swear.
You see the car tracks?
They had to blow up
the unit here.
- I don't understand.
- What do we do now?
No idea.
Come on, let's
spend the night here
and follow the tracks tomorrow.
Come on.
They brought all the villagers
to reconstruct that bridge.
They surely don't waste time.
Maybe they won't make it
before it gets dark?
Darkness isn't an obstacle.
The security of the barn
has been increased.
We should blow it up
with the machine inside.
We used all the explosives
for the bridge.
I left a box with TNT
under the seat in the truck.
It's gonna be enough
for five cars.
The Germans must have
found it by now.
Yeah, we can't go
there in daytime.
Does it hurt?
It's OK.
Here, take this.
Will make it easier for you.
- Thank you.
- Nothing to thank me for.
We'll attack when it gets dark.
Now, listen.
If the charge is under the seat,
we'll blow up the
truck right there.
If not...
we'll drive it further away.
And then what?
And then we'll think.
The Germans are gonna catch us
while we think.
You better sink it.
Uh huh.
He already tried that.
Not the best option.
You had to sink it in our swamp.
There's a swamp here. It's about
eight or nine kilometers away.
A farm tractor sunk
there in 1939.
It was gone in the blink
of an eye,
both the tractor and a
trailer.
My nephew Pasha, the driver,
God bless his soul,
had no chance of getting out.
Can we drive there?
Yes, there's a corduroy.
A what?
It's a log path, right
over the swamp.
All right.
We'll go to the swamp.
We have to take down
the sentries quietly.
I'll do it without a sound.
From 50 meters or so.
All right, then.
We have no choice. We'll
have to attack.
After it gets dark.
Here, put it on.
It's getting cold.
Thank you.
- Hey, don't overcook it!
- It didn't even boil yet.
Moshkin.
And I thought my last
name was funny,
until I met Moshkin.
What is your last name?
Fedia Knysh.
People laughed at me.
Well, they still do.
They say I'll hardly get a wife
with such a last name.
"Pish, pish. Fedia Knysh."
Sounds good for a scarecrow.
It's boiling already!
Take it off the fire!
Come on, come on!
All right, all right.
Good. Looks good, huh, guys?
There, there.
It's overcooked.
Here.
- What about you?
- Later.
Thank you.
Galiyev is so lucky.
He was an orphan.
No one to be notified.
I can only imagine
what would happen to my parents
if they got a death
notice about me.
Dad's got heart
problems, and Mom...
I didn't even get a chance
to say my goodbyes.
My brother was about to get
married, and I came here.
And my aunt promised
to give me
her wedding ring
when I get married.
She got it from
her great-grandma.
Rings are just a
bourgeois relic.
- Really?
- Mmhmm.
I guess that depends
on the bride.
You got a family?
I'm a bigamist.
I've got one family
in the village
and one family in
the city.
My wife was to give
birth in July.
I don't know what it is -
a boy or a girl.
Your parents?
No. They... The typhoid took
them in the '20s.
And yours?
My mom's in Leningrad.
Oh. The Germans won't get
us there, for sure.
Come on.
Subbotina, take the weapon.
Belous, take up defense.
No, wait!
Come on! Siavris!
Siavris!
What's in there? The
explosives?
It's empty.
No explosives.
Start it. We're leaving.
Comrade Captain, turn it, sir.
Give me light, Kovzik.
Hold it!
I need light.
Just a sec.
OK, OK, OK.
Now I know why it didn't start.
They didn't know we connect
plus to the ground and
minus to the circuit.
Just a second.
- Come on, Siavris! Hurry!
- Almost done.
- You OK?
- I'm fine!
The ammo!
Vika!
All right, I'm almost done.
I'm done! Now, turn it again.
It's working!
What is it?
That's it. We're done.
We're all out of petrol.
It's no use.
I told you, there's no petrol.
- Siavris.
- What?
- Get behind the wheel.
- What for?
We'll take the truck
to the galley.
Come on, Kovzik, push it.
Don't worry, we'll make it.
Come on.
Come on, come on, come on!
That's it.
Enough.
Kovzik!
Where's Kovzik?
He's gone.
Hey, you, come here.
I don't understand.
Nicht verschtein.
Officer, I'm going home.
I was at my goddaughter's
party in that village.
I don't understand.
Where are the saboteurs?
Tell me, man.
You don't think this machine is
worth more than the kids' lives?
If this unit falls into enemy
hands, it will take more lives.
- We have an order.
- An order!
They're kids, for God's sake!
Have you ever had kids
in your life?
I had...
a son.
He died?
He was killed.
My wife, too.
When our outpost was bombed.
I'm sorry.
And now what?
Moshkin!
Moshkin! Moshkin, get up!
- Come on!
- What is it?
Move it!
So?
That's it.
- Comrade Commander!
- Knysh!
It's me!
- Ninety-nine!
- And one, Knysh!
- I brought help!
- Private Moshkin!
It's Kovzik!
Open the door!
Make sure you tie it down tight.
- Thank you.
- God bless you.
Gee!
Giddyap!
Gee!
Giddyap!
Wait! Wait!
Whoa.
Wait for me! I'll go with you!
I'll come back for you.
I swear I will.
Gee!
Giddyap!
Gee!
- Giddyap!
- Fyodor!
- Gee!
- Fyodor!
You have a good name! Do
you hear me?
It will be OK!
And I don't think it's
funny at all.
Gee!
Whoa.
Now we'll make it for sure.
Start it, Knysh!
Done!
Now, go! We'll cover you!
All right!
Let's go!
What is it, Commander?
I don't know.
I can't feel my legs.
Oh, my God!
Come on, let's switch places.
Can you take care
of switching gears?
Yeah.
Then right into second.
- Gee!
- Head to the glade!
They won't make it through!
- Gee!
- Come on, to the right! Come on!
Gee!
- Come on, faster!
- Gee!
Hey! Hey!
Knysh! Knysh! You OK?
- You OK?
- Yeah.
- I'm fine.
- Where's the group?
- I'm fine
- Where's the...
Into first, then.