Fyodor Bondarchuk has made good with his debut feature, a story of not-quite-yet-men drawn into one of the toughest units in the Soviet Army. Set in 1987, the tail end of Russia’s conflict with Afghanistan, the timing of this project is impressive — images of ill-prepared young soldiers searching desert caves provides a modern parallel, while an officer reminds us that no-one has ever won a war against this enemy.
It looks big-budget (impressively it cost just $9 million), but despite some highly effective set-pieces, screenwriter Yuri Korotkov works it on an emotional level. That said, it doesn’t bring much to this genre that we haven’t seen before.