You see, they are stubborn.
That's the good thing about the Germans.
Man, you got to admit when they get an idea in their heads-
Right.
Let's see if our customer has arrived.
Are you ready?
Uh-huh.
And now our famous shepherd from the Urals,
who Major Konig thinks is an idiot,
gets up to make sure he has hit his target.
Major Konig sees him.
Aims for his helmet.
Fires.
Reveals his position and is shot in turn.
Except... Major Konig doesn't fire...
because Major Konig isn't there.
Koulikov!
Don't you think that was strange, that last one?
They sent him out to get shot like the others.
It's not natural.
Not without artillery, without trying to cover him.
Oh, no, I'm the one who was stupid.
They don't give a shit about telephone guys.
I mean, it's like us with the Ukrainians.
They'd never bother a major over a few dead grunts.
Tomorrow, we'll kill us some generals.
Whose turn is it?
Mine, I think.
Oh, you're such a cheater!
You can't fool Papa Koulikov.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, it's my turn to go first.
And it's your turn to get a hole in your britches.
To victory.
This sniper business has been dragging on too long.
What's that little fellow of yours up to?
He's probing, comrade Kruschev.
He's testing the Germans for weaknesses.
He's meticulous in his preparation.
Vodka... is a luxury we have.
Caviar is a luxury we have.
Time is not.
He's aware of that comrade Kruschev. We both are.
I assure you he will succeed.
Good.
It seems your destinies are entwined.
They're keeping you busy.
I picked this up in the kitchen.
It's from the reception the other day. I thought Mrs. Filipov might like it.
Um, she will be thrilled. That's very sweet of you.
There's plenty more if you're hungry.
You're Jewish, aren't you?
There's nothing in our religion that says you can't eat sturgeon.
My father had a premonition all this would happen.
You mean the war?
He understood that the hatred of the jews ran deep.
He was saving up to buy some land in Palestine.
He said it was the only land we truly belonged in;
the only land we had a duty to defend.
He insisted I learn to use a rifle.
I learned to shoot.
I know that in times of war, personal feelings should be put aside, but...
I have a favor to ask you.
Of course. Anything you want.
I want to be reassigned.
What's happened, Tania?
@@@@@@
He shot him.
He shot him even though he jumped first.
Shot him on the run.
It was an impossible shot.
I've never seen anything like it.
You've promised people a victory I can't deliver.
I don't stand a chance against this man.
You mustn't talk like that, Vassili.
What if I told you we found a way to track his movements?
We've got someone, Vassili.
Someone close to him passing us information.
Next time you will be one step ahead of him.
I promise.
@@
Now I have a favor to ask.
From me?
It's about Tania.
Come in.
He doesn't even know you exist.
But at that moment, you are closer to him than anyone else on earth.
You see his face through the sight.
You see whether he shaved that morning or not.
You can see whether he's married by whether he has a wedding ring on.
It's not like...
just firing at a distant shape, not just a uniform.
It's a man's face.
Those faces don't go away.
They come back and they just- they get replaced by more faces.
Did Danilov ask you to tell me this?
He likes you very much. I think he'd try anything to change your mind.
Did he tell you why I asked for the transfer?
No.
This morning, a list arrived at headquarters.
It was a list of civilians who'd been...
rounded up and sent to Germany in a convoy...
that left Stalingrad three weeks ago.
My parents were amongst them.
After 30 kilometers, the German soldiers...
stopped the train and forced everyone out.
In the middle of a bridge, they bound them together,
two by two.
Mothers with daughters.
Husbands and wives.
They... Iined them up against the railing,
and then they fired a single shot at each pair...
to save bullets.
It worked.
The bodies of the ones who died dragged the others under the water.
I know they died together.
They never would have let themselves be separated.
That's Koulikov's rifle. It's a good... rifle.
Thank you.
I know how he leaves the shelter.
He goes through the tractor factory.
The tractor factory is big.
I know exactly where. He crawls through a gutter,
under a grate where the vats are,
then he goes out from the workshop.
In between the two, there's a place where he's in the open.
It's under a long, iron foot walk.
Good luck, comrade.
I know exactly where he's waiting for me.
He'll be on the foot walk over the gutter.
We'll take him out from behind.
We'll get to the other end of the workshop through these pipes.
Follow me.
You go that way. I'll go around this way.
Okay?
Shit!
Sergei, you should go back.
- No, I'll be all right. - Go back.
No, you go!
Keep your legs in.
Come on. Come on. Come on.
Comrade Stalin is asking for one last effort!
The fate of the motherland is at risk!
The fate of all those you love and cherish!
It's for them that we fight today.
Listen to me, Tania. The Germans are throwing everything at us.
If they're lucky, one in ten of these soldiers will come back alive.
You're highly educated. You know languages.
Every intercept you translate saves hundreds of lives.
Every message you decode kills thousands of theirs.
You have a duty to survive.
Vassili was born to fire a gun. It's what he knows.
You and I were born for a different purpose.
If Vassili were here, he would tell you the same thing.
Where is he? Where is Vassili?
Keep your head down.
- Tell me where he is. - Stay into that pipe, Tania.
Stay in. Stay in! Get your head in!
Slow down.
Don't shoot.
He's over there.
Do you see the pillar in front of you?
I need you to move round behind it.
Go.
Tania, I need you to find a large piece of glass.
Piece of glass.
Do you see the kiln...
behind me to the left of the factory?
Yes? I can't hear you.
- Yes. - Yes.
Do you see...
the two louvers?
- Yes. - Do you see the one...
with a broken slat?
Yes.
This is what I want you to do.
- Are you ready? - Yes.
Three... two... one...
Hello, Sacha.
He was right where you said he'd be.
Nearly there.
He's very clever.
Tell me about him.
Why was it his grandfather taught him how to shoot and not his father?
His father's dead. His mother too.
Does he talk about his father?
No. He didn't know him.
Did he go to school?
He knows how to write. He answers lots of letters.
Hmm. Is it girls who write to him?
Everyone writes to him.
Is there a girl he loves in his village?
- Not in his village, here. - Does she love him?
Yes, because he's handsome.
Because he's brave and she's very beautiful.
I know her well. She's from my neighborhood.
She went to the university. They're handsome together.
Later, the two of them will get married.
At least, I think so.
And you, Sacha,
why are you helping the Germans?
Because they're stronger. Because they're going to win the war.
And because you like chocolate, huh?
@@@@@@
All these people here know they're gonna die.
So each night when they make it back,
- it's a bonus.
- Excuse me.
So, every cup of tea,
every cigarette...
becomes a little celebration.
Because for a lot of us, it maybe our last night.
It's just something you have to accept here.
Everyone has their time.
In the forest, the wolf lives for three years,
the donkey for nine.
So, that's-that's got to be a proverb from the Urals.
It makes no sense to me what's over.
The donkey lives longer because he's more useful.
Makes absolute sense.
There aren't any donkeys in the forest.
You made it up.
So... I'm a donkey?
People like you and Danilov...
have to survive this.
People who have read books, had an education.
We'll need you when the war is over.
And if you survive?
What will the useless Vassili Zaitsev do then?
I wanna work in a factory.
My grand dad took me to a factory once.
There was this man there, high up on a-
on a foot walk.
He wasn't wearing blue like the others.
The people he was supervising didn't understand what they were doing.
But for him, for him up there,
it was simple; it was clear.
And I thought, "One day, I could be that man. "
Sad to have a dream you know won't happen.
Why shouldn't it?
You'll outlive us all.
Hmm.
You'll be the oldest donkey in the forest.
"150 meters stand between the Germans and the Volga.
"Today the whole world is watching these 150meters.
They are what makes Stalingrad..."
the capitol...
of the war.
Your friend, Tania...
have you see her?
She stays over there now, with the snipers.
Tell the major we're sending in all of our sharp shooters...
to support the attack on the factory.
Tell him Vassili will be there.
- I need to talk to you. - Sure.
- Danilov. - Hmm?
You have to stop writing about me.
I'm not gonna get him because I'm not good enough.
Sooner or later, he's gonna find me, he's gonna kill me.
I've warned you before not to talk like this.
This time it's different.
You've built me up...
and up into someone I'm not.
I can't carry that weight anymore. I wanna fight.
I want to fight just as a regular soldier.
I understand.
The thing is, you're not a regular soldier. You're extra ordinary.
No, I'm what you've made me.
Nothing more.
Why are you telling me this now?
Hmm? What's happened?
What's changed?
Did you speak to Tania for me?
- Yes. - Well...
will she reconsider?
I don't know.
She should. She'll be much safer. She should, you know that.
- Yeah. - It'll be easier to get her reassigned.
The Germans are preparing another offensive in the city center.
The propaganda battle is crucial for morale. We need you more than ever.
Sacha. Hold on. Sacha!
- Tell him what you know, Sacha. - Hello, Sacha.
There was dust on the major's boots.
Sacha has the major convinced he's gone over to the other side.
I don't need to tell you the risk she's taking.
The dust was yellow. There's only one place where there's dust like that-
in the back of the chemical factory, a big heap on the tracks.
Well done.
Sacha...
wait for me outside then.
- Danilov, - Hmm?
you had no right to use him.
No, no, I didn't use him, Vassili.
He did it of his own accord.
You know why?
Because he believes in you!
Tomorrow morning, we're going to take back the chemical factory.
Sacha's informed the major you'll be there,
so now you know where you have to wait for him.
- In the middle of an assault. - I'm following orders.
I suggest you do the same.
Now, I'm aware of the risks.
You'll be fine.
Comrade.
That's the Germans up there.
And yesterday was the Russians.
We're not very far now.
Sacha...
you're playing a very dangerous game.
I want you to win.
See there? Keep going along the river.
It's safe... for a while.
Aah!
He's dead. We found this on his corpse.
Your reason for being here has ceased to exist.
Pardon me, Herr General,
but I do not believe-
There is a plane bound for Berlin tomorrow evening.
You will be on it.
Until then, I must ask you for your dog tags.
Imagine how Russian propaganda would profit from your death.
If you fall, you will fall unknown.
You've already had a near miss.
Also please take this War Merit Cross.
It was awarded post humously...
to a lieutenant of the 116th Infantry Division...
who fell here during the first days of the battle.
He was my son.
If the landing is captured, everything's lost!
Come here.
What did I tell you?
You've been playing your fiddle too much!
If it's confirmed that he's dead, we're sunk!
- Well, you resunk. - It isn't true.
It was intercepted from their staff headquarters.
What do they have to do, dangle his body in front our our men?
They're lying.
That's good. Very good.
Write it, then. "Vassili Zaitsev is not dead.
"This is what he had for breakfast this morning.
This is a picture of him reading today's newspaper. " You're the poet.
- What?
You won't give up the river bank!
I don't care if you've lost half your men!
Lose the other half, or lose yourself!
Is he back?
He should be back soon.
The German attack cut the lines. That's why he's late.
Can we go outside?
I wrote to my mother about you.
She wanted me to tell you that once this war was over,
if there's anything you needed- anything at all-
our family will be there for you.
You know I'm here for you.
They're saying Vassili is dead.
Vassili Zaitsev will never see his loved ones again.
Surrender! This is your only hope.
You're upset.
Because Zaitsev is dead?
You don't have to hide it. There's no shame in it.
You're a Russian like he is.
Don't listen to them.
It's just propaganda.
He isn't dead.
And do you know why?
Because I haven't killed him yet.
@@@@@@
I'm going to tell you a little secret.
Only you, because I know I can trust you.
But you must swear to me that you won't tell another soul.
You swear?
I found a terrific spot.
It's by the exit from the train station.
I'll hide in the water tower.
Tomorrow. I'll wait for him there.
You'll see. He'll be there.
He always is.
I also want you to swear that from now on, you'll stay home where you belong.
Do you swear? Yes?
Good.
"We know he's alive. We know he won't fail us.
We know because he is a part of us now. Vassili is eternal. "
Where have you been? We've looked everywhere for you.
Oh, didn't you hear? I was dead.
At least the noble sniper Zaitsev...
Vassili was dead.
The real one.
Me...
I was asleep,
and I missed my chance.
Then, I was curled up in a corner, hiding...
from a man who wants to kill me.
I'll talk to Kruschev.
He'll send you back to your old division.
- Where's Tania? - She's at the shelter.
I've been to the shelter.
I told her you weren't dead.
The major said so. He said the other Germans were lying.
He told me you were waiting for him at the station.
Vassili.
My little Sacha.
I knew it.
- Vassili. - Tania.
I knew you weren't dead.
How?
Because we only just met.
I prayed for the first time since I was a little girl.
When I opened my eyes, Sacha was standing there...
waiting to give me the good news.
I think he loves you even more than I do.
To the proper military authority,
I'm calling to the commandant's attention the recent changes noticed...
in the attitude towards fighting of soldier Vassili Zaitsev.
He has attempted on several occasions to escape his duties,
voiced doubts on the chances of our victory...
and made defeatist comments in public.
The inexplicable duration of his duel...
with the Nazi sharpshooter can only be explained by...
his lack of belief in the communist ideal.
Good morning, Sacha.
Once again, he knew exactly where to find me.
Don't you think that's strange?
- Apart from me, only you knew.
I don't hold it against you, Sacha.
You've done a very brave thing.
You've chosen your camp. I respect that.
But it isn't my camp.
We're both soldiers,
and we're both enemies, so I know you understand.
I'm annoyed with you, little Sacha, for not staying home as I made you swear to.
I'm annoyed with you for obliging me to do what I'm going to have to do.
I've never seen anyone frown so much in their sleep.
How long have you been watching me?
All night.
You've been snoring away happily for hours.
I don't snore. Do I?
Like a pig.
I suppose I talk in my sleep as well.
Yes.
There's something I should tell you.
On the train...
coming here...
we were in the same car.
No.
I saw you.
You were reading, and you fell asleep.
I didn't dare look at you, you were so beautiful.
It was scary.
Afterwards, I couldn't stop thinking about you.
It made me smile.
And then I thought of all the men who would get to hold you...
who'd make you laugh...
how lucky they were.
And now I'm the one lying next to you.
- Was I snoring? - Like a pig.
- What?
- Oh, my God! - Oh, no.
- Oh, my God! - Tania, no.
- Tania, no! - No, get off me!
- Get off me! Get off me! - It's what he wants!
- This is what he wants! - Get off me!
- No, he'll kill you. He'll kill you! - Let me go!
- I'll run after you, and he'll kill me. - Let me go!
- This is what he wants! I'll get him.
- I promise I'll get him.
I'll get his rifle for you. I promise, Tania.
I need you.
You have to leave now, Mrs. Filipov. Stalingrad may fall.
The last of the boats are leaving. The Germans will be here any moment.
He's brought you a pass. You'll be safe on the other side.
Gather your things, and we'll help you carry them to the landing stage.
I'm not leaving. This is my home.
This is my Sacha's home. I can't leave.
I have to tell you something, Mrs. Filipov.
Something very difficult to understand.
It's about Sacha.
He's gone over to the Germans. He's betrayed his country.
He's with the enemy now. He won't be coming back.
Oh, my God.
He's become a traitor.
The poor little thing.
What has he done?
So, he's going to stay over there?
Yes... he's going to stay over there.
I shouldn't be saying this, comrade Commissar,
but maybe it's for the best.
If the Germans have won, he'll be safe.
I know it's wrong, but perhaps he has made the right choice.
- Oh! Oh, Tania! - Tania?
- Oh, Tania! - Tania!
Oh, my God! Oh!
I need a doctor! A doctor!
I have a pass. I have a pass!
You must let her cross.
Please!
- It's useless. She'll never make it. - No! No, she will!
She's my daughter! She's my daughter!
- I beg of you! - All right.
- Oh, thank you! - Put this one on the boat.
Where is he?
Where's the major?
A few inches from your face.
I've been such a fool, Vassili.
Man will always be man.
There is no new man.
We tried so hard to create a society that was equal,
where there'd be nothing to envy your neighbor.
But there's always something to envy.
A smile...
a friendship.
Something you don't have and want to appropriate.
In this world- even a Soviet one-
there will always be rich and poor.
Rich in gifts...
poor in gifts.
Rich in love...
poor in love.
Tania isn't coming back.
She's dead, Vassili.
She was cut down by shrapnel. It was quick.
I don't think she even saw it coming.
She was on her way back to you.
As soon as she had seen Mrs. Filipov to the boats, she was coming back for you.
She was right. You're a good man, Vassili.
I want to help you, Vassili.
Let me do one last thing.
Something useful for a change.
Let me show you where the major is.
Don't do that. Don't do that!
Today, February3, 1943, is an ominous day for Hitler...
and the endless columns of hundreds of thousands of German prisoners.
It is an unforgettable day of hope for our motherland.
-@@@@@@
After 180days of heroic combat...
in the market city of Stalingrad,
and as a result of the valor and self-sacrifice of our soldiers,
the commander of our glorious Red Army...
received the unconditional surrender...
of the German fascist invaders.
Sorry. No, young man, I cannot find...
- a matching name in the book. - Could you check again?
- This is the address and her name. - She is not here.
Yes, this is our address, but we don't have her anymore.
- This is the address. She's been here. - I'm so sorry.
- She wrote to me. - I looked three times. She's not here.
Believe me, there is no Tania Chernova. I can't help you.
I'm so sorry.