Akhmet
1988년 아프가니스탄 침공 9년째, 끝이 좀처럼 보이지 않는 대결의 접점으로 젊은 청년들이 또 한 번 징집되었다. 화가를 꿈꾸는 예술가, 선생님이 되고자 하는 교생실습생, 결혼식을 치른 지 하루 만에 소집되어 온 새 신랑, 어린 딸을 둔 젊은 가장. 그들은 사랑하는 연인, 가족과 이별하고 비가 내리는 어느 겨울 밤 훈련소로 떠나는 기차에 몸을 싣는다. 지옥 같은 3개월의 훈련이 시작되고, 젊은 병사들은 하루하루 치열한 삶의 모든 순간들, 희망의 한 자락까지도 함께 나눈다.
Shakhid
Terror from within by Yury Felshtinsky and Alexander Litvinenko, representing them as parts of the plan masterminded and sponsored by exiled tycoon Pokrovsky (obvious hint at Boris Berezovsky in real life) and aimed to discredit Russian security services. As this plan has failed, Pokrovsky assisted by some terrorists organizes a hostage taking in a Moscow circus (very similar to Moscow theater hostage crisis in real life) in order to return to Russia, acting as a saver of the hostages during negotiations. However, he fails to do so. The movie also depicts the Pankisi Gorge in Georgia as a place where an important Islamic militant hides, which was a common allegation by Russian authorities in real life around that time, and depicts destruction of a base of terrorists and allies of Pokrovsky in Qatar which might hint at the assassination of Zelimkhan Yandarbiev. Overall, the movie was widely considered propaganda.
