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Life in the Russian military is observed in this almost surreal Russian drama that contains strong anti-war sentiments. The film's main theme suggests that we as humans do not have as much control over the course of our lives as we think we do. It is filmed without a plot and minimal dialog. Instead it offers a poetic depiction of brief, unexplained incidents in the soldiers' lives. The audience sees neither the beginning, nor the end of the episode. The purpose is not to explore the men themselves, but rather to evoke a mood of despair and impending doom. To get the film produced, filmmakers Hussein Erkenov, Yuri Polyakov, and Vladimir Golodov had to create two fake scripts in addition to the real one. The film was actually made in 1990; it could not be internationally released until Erkenov could afford to create his own company.