La unidad

I couldn't find English subtitles for this but I did find a version with Spanish subtitles, my Spanish is not bad so I was able to follow it quite well. This is a film about a small Russian unit left to guard a bridge, in 1944, in Occupied Poland, while the main attack goes on elsewhere. The unit becomes preoccupied with the fate of a group of children who are being hidden from the Germans by nuns from the Nunnery next door. There's not really any plot to speak of. I found myself getting very annoyed at one stupid girl who wanders around calling for her brother and having to be rescued by the Russians. It got to the point where I wanted the Russians to shoot her to avoid losing men due to her stupidity. There was not a lot of action but what there is, is reasonably realistic. Characters are well defined, direction seemed OK and the cinematography, also OK.

In Russian war films the Russians are always the underdog, even towards the end of the war, as they are poised to break into Germany itself. They will find some isolated Russian unit that manages to find itself under attack by a superior German enemy. But there's another coincidence: nearby is a church, where little children are hiding. And Germans apparently have nothing better to do than try and kill them all. So what do the brave Russians do to save these Polish kids? They bring them along as they retreat under fire, and put them in the trench, as a superior German force bombards the trench and advances towards it. Now, that's what I call keeping kids safe. As usual, everyone has to die, because otherwise a Russian film won't get greenlighted for production. There is also a theme of reconciliation between Russians and Poles, as the anti-communist resistance realises they are best off surrendering their country to communists. So there you have it: Russia did in fact liberate Poland, and the fact they also imposed communism and membership in the eastern bloc is not all that important. What matters is that infanticidal Germans have been defeated.

I'm not sure why the rating is so low. Sure, this isn't Saving Private Ryan or anything. It doesn't have the big box office script or character development, but I found the story to be engaging, moving, and it hit all the right notes without a minute wasted.

I don't get the reviews saying there is no plot. A small unit has to protect a bridge and comes across innocent children that they fight to protect. There is your story.

This is one of the better unknown little movies i've seen in awhile.

Like the throng of recent Russian war movies, this one follows the contemporary canon - likable Russian squad, love interest, jokes abound between fierce battles, sacrifice for the motherland, saving innocents, upholding the high ground...As usual, technical execution was very good. Russian cinema is the Hollywood's antipode in that they both promote questionable political agendas, only with less refinement. This anachronistic movie caters to the local market, so it can be easily passed over. If you really want a taste of the recent Russian cinema, try Leviafan (2014), Mayor (2013), Durak (2013) or Nelyubov (2017).