I, a Russian soldier

I, a Russian soldier (Russian: Я — русский солдат, translit. Ya - Russkiy soldat) is Russian film about the famous episode of the Great Patriotic War - the Defense of Brest Fortress, based on the novel by Boris Vasilyev His name is not in the list.^[1]

Plot

June 21, 1941 a few hours before the war, a graduate of the border guards school Lieutenant Nikolay Pluzhnikov, a former cadet, gets to the border in Brest. Nikolay and his fellow traveler-young Jewish woman Mirra slowly going along the streets of the Brest. She was a cook in an officers cafeteria so she decided to show him his new service place-Brest Fortress.

In the morning, Lieutenant Nikolay Pluzhnikov took part in the first battle with Nazis who attacked the Soviet border and surround a fortress. He,Mirra and group of soldiers under his command began to fight the attacking Germans inside the fortress. All attempts to break out failed, no reinforcements arrived. Defenders of the fortress are outgunned and outnumbered. Although the Soviet soldiers in the opening hours of the battle were stunned by the surprise attack, outnumbered, short of supplies, and cut off from the outside world, many of them held out much longer than the Germans expected. Multiple hand-to-hand fightings took place all around the fortress. Pluzhnikov and his men get an order to reoccupy the headquarters and defend it. A former cadet armed with only TT pistol, took several men under command and successfully reoccupied the headquarters and one of the German machine gun nests. Within the hours he "passed an exam" for combat training. Moreover, he learned to subordinate and make decisions:

They gave me an order to hold up. But not to run away!

Unfortunately outnumbered Soviet soldiers were killed one by one. Border guards, soldiers and civilians were killed on Pluzhnikovs eyes. His friend private Salnikov, saved Pluzhnikov from certain death twice but was also killed. During the artillery barrage, Pluzhnikov took cover in the basement where Mirra and three soldiers(starshina Stephan Matveevich, junior sergeant Fedorchuk and private Vasyliy Volkov) waiting until the combat above will finally ends. There are a lot of food, ammunition and even water inside the basement. Pluzhnikov harshly rebukes them for inaction and took them under his command. He leads them above to make a recon mission. During the first combat Stephan Matveevich get wounded. Fedorchuk wants to give up and put his hands up. Pluzhnikov catch and shoot him as a traitor. Young private Volkov see the Pluzhnikovs cruelty and decide to leave him during the night. Mirra and Stephan Matveevich do not wake Pluzhnikov to save the young private`s life. Stephan Matveevich heroically died after he recognized the inevitability of gangrene. He jumped with a grenade in a group of Germans from one of the fortress towers. Pluzhnikov stayed with a Mirra alone. They lived together for a long weeks. Pluzhnikov continue to make his attacks on Germans and learn how to move silently along the fortress corridors. Pluzhnikov and Mirra fell in love and decide to be married in their basement. Once Pluzhnikov captured the German soldier and after interrogation he had to shoot him. Soldier fell down and began to beg to save his live. He told that he was from Austria and had a wife and three children. Pluzhnikov failed to shoot the man who did not have any weapon and could not even stand up. During one of the raids, Pluzhnikov found the last survivors in the basements: sergeant Nebogatov and yefreytor Klimkov. They wanted to left the fortress for Białowieża Forest and join the partizans operating there. Pluzhnikov allow them to grab some ammunition and suggested to go to partisans together. He brought them to his and Mirra`s basement. Nebogatov knew Mirra well before the war and said that she will not make this hard way. When Pluzhnikov said that he would not go without his wife, they began to insult him and say a lot of cynnical words about his and Mirra`s sexual relations. Pluzhnikov furiously kicked them out from their basement but Mirra managed to give them ammo before they left.

In authumn of 1941, Mirra gets pregnant. Pluzhnikov persuades Mirra to leave the basement for child sake. He planned to send her inside a group of local women, mobilised by Germans for works inside the fortress. Mirra trying to join them but despite half of them decide to hide Mirra inside a crowd, some of them called for Hilfspolizei. One of the collaborator realize that Mirra hid in the basement because of the basement smell of her clothes. He beat her to death by his rifle stock.

In winter 1941, when German general arrived in the fortress, Pluzhnikov tried to shoor him but kill only two of his guards. Pluzhnikov`s eyesight is deteriorating because of his long life in the basements. Germans comb through ruins of the fortress but still don't dare to get down to the basements. Germans decided to send a Jew-former violinist Ruvim Svitsky from the local ghetto inside the basement. He offered Pluzhnikov to surrender and said that if he refuse all Svitsky`s family will be shot by Germans and the basement will be burned out by flamethrowers. He began to beg Pluzhnikov to surrender. Half-blind,exhausted,ran out of food and ammunition Pluzhnikov decided to surrender to save the Jew and his family. Jew also said that there are a lot of rumors circulating inside a ghetto about "big German defeat near Moscow" but also added "but this still only a rumors". Pluzhnikov realize that his own war was not useless and the coutry is still not defeated.

Lieutenant Pluzhnikov leave the basement together with Jew. German soldiers surrounding them. German general asked Pluzhnikov about his name and rank on German and ordered a Jew to translate it into Russian. Jew translated the question. Half-blind,exhausted and hoarse Pluzhnikov answered "I`m a Russian soldier." Jew begged Pluzhnikov to say his real name and rank but he repeated these words. "He said that he is Russian soldier" Jew finally said on German.

German general ordered his soldiers to salute the last Soviet defender of the fortress.

Cast

• Dmitry Medvedev as Lieutenant Pluzhnikov
• Milena Tskhovreba-Agranovich as Mirra
• Alexey Buldakov as Sergeant
• Albert Arntgolts as Ruvim Svitsky, violinist (voiced by Igor Yasulovich)
• Natalia Vysotskaya as Christa
• Pyotr Yurchenkov as Senior Sergeant Fedorchuk
• Alexander Pyatkov as Sergeant Tolya Nebogatov
• Dmitry Osherov as soldier Vasya Volkov

Awards

• 1996 - Grand Special Prize at the International Film Festival Golden Knight in Minsk
• 1996 - the prize of Golden Lotus on the Pyongyang International Film Festival (North Korea)

Other facts

• Boris Vasilyev, author of the novel, a negative attitude to this statement as from the story could not do another series. In one series, you do not have time to show the main thing: how the boy grows from folk hero who is not afraid of anything, for it is death - deliverance from the torment of memories, grief, of all!^[1]
• A screen adaptation of the novel were planning to do Leonid Bykov and Vadim Abdrashitov. For various reasons (early tragic death of Bykov's) and nationality of the main character, it is up to the 90s failed.^[2]

References

External links

• I, a Russian soldier at the Internet Movie Database