Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Aleksey Serebryakov | ... | Okovalkov | |
![]() |
Vsevolod Khovanskiy-Pomerantsev | ... | Manuylov |
Boris Galkin | ... | Colonel General | |
Igor Mirkurbanov | ... | Novikov | |
Andrey Saminin | ... | Razumovskiy | |
Stanislav Boklan | ... | Battalion Commander | |
![]() |
Nikita Emshanov | ... | Sloboda |
Mikhail Tarabukin | ... | Bukhov | |
![]() |
Aleksey Longin | ... | Kreshchyonykh |
Ivan Shibanov | ... | Peters | |
![]() |
Vladimir Smirnov | ... | Shchukin |
![]() |
Zaza Chanturiya | ... | Tskheladze |
![]() |
Akbar Rasulov | ... | Saidov (as Akbarkhuza Rasulov) |
![]() |
Saak Duryan | ... | Akopyan |
Karina Andolenko | ... | Anna |
1986, Afghanistan. The Mujahideen announce the launch of a new air-defense system called Stinger, which could potentially end Soviet supremacy in the air. Commander of Intelligence, Major Okovalkov is assigned the mission of getting hold of this new weapon and to do this, he has to intercept a small caravan transporting, according to intelligence information, a couple of Stingers. However, as it turns out, the caravan is a large heavily guarded vehicle with a well-armed escort. Realising that the mission is doomed to fail before it has begun, Okovalkov decides to let the caravan pass and then return to his unit, but his plans are ruined when a young and inexperienced soldier suddenly opens fire. A fight ensues during which most of the Soviet squad is killed. With only seven survivors and no radio contact, Okovalkov's real ordeal begins when he is forced to march his injured men over 45 kilometres back to base. Written by Star Media Team
This film delivers good action, and it makes you care about the characters. Production values are good. the script is well written, and the acting is good. This is a standard TV movie, it focuses on action, and it doesn't seek to provide some new insight into the war in Afghanistan. It repeats many of established cliches about the war, notably the idea that the army was willing to sacrifice men in order to achieve various objectives. This is something a lot of people object to, arguing it has no basis in reality and needlessly smears the army. All in all, I can warmly recommend this film. It is a good production.