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Secret Brigade is one of several Russian films dealing with the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Vladimir Druzhnikov stars as Zaslonov, a humble railroad employee who becomes a hero of the Soviet Underground. Gaining the confidence of a few German officers, Zaslonov is able to lay the groundwork for a major sabotage operation, aimed at crippling Nazi train shipments. In the tradition of Hollywood oversimplification, the Nazis are depicted as little better than morons, totally oblivious to the saboteurs and their covert activities. Secret Brigade was made available to U.S. distributors in early 1951, though the market for pro-Soviet films was practically nil in that McCarthy-dominated year.