AllMovie

How do you wage war with an enemy who surrounds you at all times but remains forever out of sight? This was the question raised by filmmaker Alexander Sokurov as he journeyed to the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border to interview the Russian soldiers trapped in a perpetual state of danger and desolation. As the weary soldiers await the arrival of an enemy who may never materialize, Sokurov embeds himself with them to offer one of the most unique and involved portrayals of military quandary ever committed to celluloid.