The bells are ringing again, and life has never been. The main line of the film is the comparison of two lines of relations between the brothers - the first line refers to the period of the Civil War, the second to the present. The director does not give value judgments, who is right who is to blame, he simply records events and facts.
Civil war. In some village comes a group of whites. They are battered by battles and they need peace, one of the commanders of the detachment comes from this village, here he meets with his parents, learns that his brother went to the Reds. For the detachment begins a peaceful life, someone gets married, someone falls in love, someone just wants to live normally. But the world is not the same and the heroes only dream of peace, there is nothing sacred for people. Civil war has distorted values and new realities leave no room for sentiment. As a result, the brother went to his brother, and a tragedy occurred.
Modernity. The escape of prisoners, their capture sent a detachment and paradox — the group of persecuted is headed by the brother of one of the prisoners. As a result of the accident, the helicopter of the pursuers falls and a meeting occurs, symbolizing the connection of times. Under the same roof are the brother of the prisoner and the brother of the Vokhrovets, and sheltered them survivors of wars and camps former White Guard. They were surrounded by escaped prisoners.
The intensity of the film is largely created not only by the situation, but also by the memories of the former Esaul. But in the Civil War he fought with ideological enemies, among whom was his brother, and for what are now fighting with each other brothers? All the cruelty and destructiveness of the fratricidal war is shown without embellishment and evaluation of a contemporary. “And I was their enemy,” says the hero of Mikhail Gluzsky, who is grieving a long-standing tragedy and does not find peace. The image of the Temple in the film is largely a collective image that the Faith should become the basis for the revival of the nation. Let us not forget that 1991 was a year of hopes for the revival of Russian statehood and the collective beginning of Orthodoxy. Maybe that is why the film of Nikolai Fomin is naive in places, but it looks like such from our time, and at that time it was a symbol of free thinking, when directors shot without opportunistic research, and what the heart and mind demanded.
Many famous actors are engaged in the film - Mikhail Gluzsky, his hero as a mirror of the Russian soul - not knowing peace, Vladimir Ivashov - is magnificent in the role of the White Guard lieutenant colonel, Viktor Pavlov is inimitable in the role of a rural priest, Yuri Stoskov in the role of a wise man, a dashing lover Esaul performed by Alexander Pankratov - Cherny, the Torsuev brothers - after Electronik the first appearance on the screen, the incomparable Nina Ruslanova in the role of a village divorcee. The actors played very well.
And I will note the title song of the film performed by Mikhail Gulko, the lines from the chorus of which are made into the title, it perfectly reflects the situation in the country at that time and past events, whether those who fought in the Civil War had life and whether today’s generation has it. Maybe my assessment of the film is overstated, it has enough sags, but what happens on the screen bribes with its sincerity, vitality and not indifference, in our time a very important quality. Every time reviewing the movie, I can not get rid of the effect of being in the frame, when what is happening captures not only the imagination, but also takes for the soul.
10 out of 10