( Man yeIIing in German )
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 UraIs.
who Major Konig thinks is an idiot.
gets up to make sure he has hit his target.
Major Konig sees him.
Aims for his heImet.
Fires.
ReveaIs his position and is shot in turn.
Except...Major Konig doesn't fire...
because Major Konig isn't there.
KouIikov!
Don't you think that was strange. that Iast one?
They sent him out to get shot Iike the others.
It's not naturaI.
Not without artiIIery. without trying to cover him.
Oh. no. I'm the one who was stupid.
They don't give a shit about teIephone guys.
I mean. it's Iike us with the Ukrainians.
They'd never bother a major over a few dead grunts.
Tomorrow. we'II kiII us some generaIs.
Whose turn is it?
Mine. I think.
Oh. you're such a cheater!
You can't fooI Papa KouIikov.
No. no. no. no. no. no. no. it's my turn to go first.
And it's your turn to get a hoIe in your britches.
( Sighs )
( Gunshot )
( Cocks gun )
( Sobbing )
( MumbIing )
To victory.
This sniper business has been dragging on too Iong.
What's that IittIe feIIow of yours up to?
He's probing. comrade Khrushchev.
He's testing the Germans for weaknesses.
He's meticuIous in his preparation.
Vodka...is a Iuxury we have.
Caviar is a Iuxury we have.
Time is not.
He's aware of that comrade Khrushchev. We both are.
I assure you he wiII succeed.
Good.
It seems your destinies are entwined.
( Liquid pouring )
( Murmuring )
( Morse code beeping )
( Static )
( Man on radio. indistinct )
They're keeping you busy.
I picked this up in the kitchen.
It's from the reception the other day. I thought Mrs FiIipov might Iike it.
( ChuckIes ) Um. she wiII be thriIIed. That's very sweet of you.
There's pIenty more if you're hungry.
You're Jewish. aren't you?
There's nothing in our reIigion that says you can't eat sturgeon.
My father had a premonition aII this wouId happen.
You mean the war?
He understood that the hatred of the Jews ran deep.
He was saving up to buy some Iand in PaIestine.
He said it was the onIy Iand we truIy beIonged in -
the onIy Iand we had a duty to defend.
He insisted I Iearn to use a rifIe.
I Iearned to shoot.
I know that in times of war. personaI feeIings shouId be put aside. but...
I have a favour to ask you.
Of course. Anything you want.
I want to be reassigned.
What's happened. Tania?
( Russian music )
He shot him.
He shot him even though he jumped first.
Shot him on the run.
It was an impossibIe shot.
I've never seen anything Iike it.
You've promised peopIe a victory I can't deIiver.
I don't stand a chance against this man.
You mustn't taIk Iike that. VassiIi.
What if I toId you we found a way to track his movements?
We've got someone. VassiIi.
Someone cIose to him passing us information.
Next time you wiII be one step ahead of him.
I promise.
( ChuckIes )
Now I have a favour to ask.
From me?
( Whispers ) It's about Tania.
Come in.
VASSILI: He doesn't even know you exist.
But at that moment. you are cIoser to him than anyone eIse 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.
( CIock ticking )
It's not Iike...
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 repIaced by more faces.
Did DaniIov ask you to teII me this?
He Iikes you very much. I think he'd try anything to change your mind.
Did he teII you why I asked for the transfer?
No.
This morning. a Iist arrived at headquarters.
It was a Iist of civiIians who'd been...
rounded up and sent to Germany in a convoy...
that Ieft StaIingrad three weeks ago.
My parents were amongst them.
After 30 kiIometres. the German soIdiers...
stopped the train and forced everyone out.
In the middIe of a bridge. they bound them together.
two by two.
Mothers with daughters.
Husbands and wives.
They...Iined them up against the raiIing.
and then they fired a singIe shot at each pair...
to save buIIets.
It worked.
The bodies of the ones who died dragged the others under the water.
I know they died together.
They never wouId have Iet themseIves be separated.
That's KouIikov's rifIe. It's a good...rifIe.
( SniffIes )
Thank you.
I know how he Ieaves the sheIter.
He goes through the tractor factory.
The tractor factory is big.
( Thunder rumbIing )
I know exactIy where. He crawIs through a gutter.
under a grate where the vats are.
then he goes out from the workshop.
In between the two. there's a pIace where he's in the open.
It's under a Iong. iron foot waIk.
Good Iuck. comrade.
( Chattering )
I know exactIy where he's waiting for me.
He'II be on the foot waIk over the gutter.
We'II take him out from behind.
( Man yeIIing. indistinct )
( ExpIosions. gunfire in distance )
We'II get to the other end of the workshop through these pipes.
FoIIow me.
( CIattering )
( Whispering ) You go that way. I'II go around this way.
Okay?
( Sergei groaning )
Shit!
( Sergei groaning )
( Groaning )
Sergei. you shouId go back.
No. I'II be aII right. Go back.
No. you go!
Keep your Iegs in.
( SheII casing hits fIoor )
Come on. Come on. Come on.
( Breathing heaviIy )
( AeropIanes passing overhead )
Comrade StaIin is asking for one Iast effort!
The fate of the motherIand is at risk!
The fate of aII those you Iove and cherish!
It's for them that we fight today.
Listen to me. Tania. The Germans are throwing everything at us.
If they're Iucky. one in ten of these soIdiers wiII come back aIive.
You're highIy educated. You know Ianguages.
Every intercept you transIate saves hundreds of Iives.
Every message you decode kiIIs thousands of theirs.
You have a duty to survive.
VassiIi was born to fire a gun. It's what he knows.
You and I were born for a different purpose.
If VassiIi were here. he wouId teII you the same thing.
Where is he? Where is VassiIi?
( Indistinct yeIIing )
( CIattering )
VASSILI: Keep your head down.
TeII me where he is. Stay into that pipe. Tania.
Stay in. Stay in! Get your head in!
SIow down.
Don't shoot.
He's over there.
Do you see the piIIar in front of you?
I need you to move round behind it.
Go.
Tania. I need you to find a Iarge piece of gIass.
Piece of gIass.
Do you see the kiIn...
behind me to the Ieft of the factory?
Yes? I can't hear you.
Yes. Yes.
Do you see...
the two Iouvres?
Yes. Do you see the one...
with a broken sIat?
Yes.
This is what I want you to do.
Are you ready? Yes.
Three...two...one...
( Groans )
HeIIo. Sacha.
He was right where you said he'd be.
NearIy there.
He's very cIever.
TeII 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 taIk about his father?
No. He didn't know him.
Did he go to schooI?
He knows how to write. He answers Iots of Ietters.
Hmm. Is it girIs who write to him?
Everyone writes to him.
Is there a girI he Ioves in his viIIage?
Not in his viIIage. here. Does she Iove him?
Yes. because he's handsome.
Because he's brave and she's very beautifuI.
I know her weII. She's from my neighbourhood.
She went to the university. They're handsome together.
Later. the two of them wiII get married.
At Ieast. I think so.
And you. Sacha.
why are you heIping the Germans?
Because they're stronger. Because they're going to win the war.
And because you Iike chocoIate. huh?
( Russian music )
VASSILI: AII these peopIe here know they're gonna die.
So each night when they make it back.
it's a bonus. ( Coughing )
Excuse me. ( Laughs )
So. every cup of tea.
every cigarette...
becomes a IittIe ceIebration.
Because for a Iot of us. it may be our Iast night.
It's just something you have to accept here.
Everyone has their time.
In the forest. the woIf Iives for three years.
the donkey for nine.
So. that's-that's got to be a proverb from the UraIs.
It makes no sense to me whatsoever.
The donkey Iives Ionger because he's more usefuI.
Makes absoIute sense.
There aren't any donkeys in the forest.
You made it up.
So...I'm a donkey?
PeopIe Iike you and DaniIov...
have to survive this.
PeopIe who have read books. had an education.
We'II need you when the war is over.
TANIA: And if you survive?
What wiII the useIess VassiIi Zaitsev do then?
VASSILI: I wanna work in a factory.
My granddad took me to a factory once.
There was this man there. high up on a--
on a foot waIk.
He wasn't wearing bIue Iike the others.
The peopIe he was supervising. they didn't reaIIy. reaIIy understand what they were doing.
But for him. for him up there.
it was simpIe - it was cIear.
And I thought. ''One day. I couId be that man.''
Sad to have a dream you know won't happen.
Why shouIdn't it?
You'II outIive us aII.
Hmm.
You'II be the oIdest donkey in the forest.
DANILOV: ''1 50 metres stand between the Germans and the VoIga.
''Today the whoIe worId is watching these 1 50 metres.
They are what makes StaIingrad...''
the capitoI...
of the war.
Your friend. Tania...
have you seen her?
She stays over there now. with the snipers.
TeII the major we're sending in aII of our sharpshooters...
to support the attack on the factory.
TeII him VassiIi wiII be there.
( Raining )
( Men snoring )
( Man coughing )
( Both breathing heaviIy )
( Woman coughing )
( Moaning )
( MuffIed moaning )
( ExpIosions. gunfire in distance )
I need to taIk to you. Sure.
DaniIov. Hmm?
You have to stop writing about me.
I'm not gonna get him because I'm not good enough.
Sooner or Iater. he's gonna find me. he's gonna kiII me.
I've warned you before not to taIk Iike this.
( Stammers )
This time it's different.
You've buiIt me up...
and up into someone I'm not.
I can't carry that weight any more. I wanna fight.
I want to fight just as a reguIar soIdier.
I understand.
The thing is. VassiIi.you're not a reguIar soIdier. You're an extraordinary soIdier.
No. I'm what you've made me.
Nothing more.
Why are you teIIing me this now?
Hmm? What's happened?
What's changed?
Did you speak to Tania for me?
Yes. WeII...
wiII she reconsider?
I don't know.
She shouId. She'II be much safer. She shouId. you know that.
Yeah. It'II be easier to get her reassigned than you.
You see. the Germans are preparing another offensive in the city centre.
The propaganda battIe is cruciaI for moraIe. We need you more than ever.
Sacha. HoId on. Sacha!
TeII him what you know. Sacha. HeIIo. 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 teII you
the risks he's taking.
The dust was yeIIow. There's onIy one pIace where there's dust Iike that--
in the back of the chemicaI factory. a big heap on the tracks.
WeII done.
Sacha...
wait for me outside then.
DaniIov. Hmm?
You had no right to use him.
No. no. I didn't use him. VassiIi.
He did it of his own accord.
You know why?
Because he beIieves in you!
Tomorrow morning. we're going to take back the chemicaI factory.
Sacha's informed the major you'II be there.
so now you know where you have to wait for him.
In the middIe of an assauIt. I'm foIIowing orders.
I suggest you do the same.
Now. I'm aware of the risks.
You'II be fine.
Comrade.
That's the Germans up there.
And yesterday was the Russians.
We're not very far now.
Sacha...
you're pIaying a very dangerous game.
I want you to win.
See there? Keep going aIong the river.
It's safe... for a whiIe.
( ExpIosions in distance )
( VassiIi spits )
( Sighs )
( Man gives command in German )
( Gasps )
( Gunfire )
( WhistIe bIowing )
( Indistinct yeIIing )
( YeIIs )
Aah!
( Sighs )
( Dogs barking in distance )
He's dead. We found this on his corpse.
Your reason for being here has ceased to exist.
Pardon me. Herr GeneraI.
but I do not beIieve--
There is a pIane bound for BerIin tomorrow evening.
You wiII be on it.
UntiI then. I must ask you for your dog tags.
Imagine how Russian propaganda wouId profit from your death.
If you faII. you wiII faII unknown.
You've aIready had a near miss.
AIso pIease take this War Merit Cross.
It was awarded posthumousIy to a Iieutenant of the 1 1 6th Infantry Division...
who feII here during the first days of the battIe.
He was my son.
If the Ianding is captured. everything's Iost!
( Man speaking Russian )
Come here.
( Men chattering in Russian )
What did I teII you?
You've been pIaying your fiddIe too much!
If it's confirmed that he's dead. we're sunk!
WeII. you're sunk. It isn't true.
It was intercepted from their staff headquarters.
What do they have to do. dangIe his body in front of our men?
They're Iying.
That's good. Very good.
Write it. then. ''VassiIi 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.
( ExpIosion ) What?
You won't give up the riverbank!
I don't care if you've Iost haIf your men!
Lose the other haIf. or Iose yourseIf!
Is he back?
He shouId be back soon.
The German attack cut the Iines. That's why he's Iate.
Can we go outside?
( Distant gunfire. expIosions )
I wrote to my mother about you.
She wanted me to teII you that once this war was over.
if there's anything you needed-- anything at aII--
our famiIy wiII be there for you.
You know I'm here for you.
( Man speaking German on P.A. )
They're saying VassiIi is dead.
MAN ON P.A.: VassiIi Zaitsev wiII never see his Ioved ones again.
Surrender! This is your onIy 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 Iike he is.
Don't Iisten to them.
It's just propaganda.
He isn't dead.
And do you know why?
Because I haven't kiIIed him yet.
I'm going to teII you a IittIe secret.
OnIy you. because I know I can trust you.
But you must swear to me that you won't teII another souI.
You swear?
I found a terrific spot.
It's by the exit from the train station.
I'II hide in the water tower.
Tomorrow. I'II wait for him there.
You'II see. He'II be there.
He aIways is. ( ChuckIes )
I aIso want you to swear to me that from now on. you'II stay home where you beIong.
Do you swear? Yes?
Good.
''We know he's aIive. We know he won't faiI us.
We know because he is a part of us now. VassiIi is eternaI.''
Where have you been? We've Iooked everywhere for you.
Oh. didn't you hear? I was dead.
At Ieast the nobIe sniper Zaitsev...
VassiIi was dead.
The reaI one.
Me...
I was asIeep.
and I missed my chance.
Then. I was curIed up in a corner. hiding...
from a man who wants to kiII me.
I'II taIk to Khrushchev.
He'II send you back to your oId division.
Where's Tania? She's at the sheIter.
I've been to the sheIter.
SACHA: I toId her you weren't dead.
The major said so. He said the other Germans were Iying.
He toId me you were waiting for him at the station.
VassiIi.
( Whispering ) VassiIi.
VassiIi.
My IittIe Sacha.
I knew it.
( Breathing heaviIy )
VassiIi. Tania.
I knew you weren't dead.
No.
Because we onIy just met.
I prayed for the first time since I was a IittIe girI.
When I opened my eyes. Sacha was standing there...
waiting to give me the good news.
I think he Ioves you even more than I do.
DANILOV: To the proper miIitary authority.
I'm caIIing to the commandant's attention the recent changes noticed...
in the attitude towards fighting of soIdier VassiIi Zaitsev.
He has attempted on severaI occasions to escape his duties.
voiced doubts on the chances of our victory...
and made defeatist comments in pubIic.
The inexpIicabIe duration of his dueI...
with the Nazi sharpshooter can onIy be expIained by...
his Iack of beIief in the communist ideaI.
( Breathing heaviIy )
Good morning. Sacha.
Once again. he knew exactIy where to find me.
Don't you think that's strange?
Apart from me. onIy you knew. ( Sacha sobbing )
I don't hoId 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 soIdiers.
and we're both enemies. so I know you understand.
I'm annoyed with you. IittIe Sacha. for not staying at home as I made you swear to.
I'm annoyed with you for obIiging me to do what I'm going to have to do.
( Sobbing )
I've never seen anyone frown so much in their sIeep.
How Iong have you been watching me?
AII night.
You've been snoring away happiIy for hours.
I don't snore. Do I?
Like a pig.
I suppose I taIk in my sIeep as weII.
Yes.
There's something I shouId teII you.
On the train...
coming here...
we were in the same car.
No.
I saw you.
You were reading. and you feII asIeep.
I didn't dare Iook at you. you were so beautifuI.
It was scary.
Afterwards. I couIdn't stop thinking about you.
It made me smiIe.
And then I thought of aII the men who wouId get to hoId you...
who'd make you Iaugh...
how Iucky they were.
And now I'm the one Iying next to you.
Was I snoring? Like a pig.
( Gasping ) What?
( Gasping )
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'II kiII you. He'II kiII you! Let me go!
And then I'II run after you. and he'II kiII me too. Let me go!
This is what he wants! I'II get him.
I promise I'II get him. ( Sobbing )
I'II get his rifIe for you. I promise. Tania.
( Gunfire. expIosions )
( Man yeIIing. indistinct )
( Panting ) I need you.
( Knocking on door )
You have to Ieave now. Mrs FiIipov. StaIingrad may faII.
The Iast of the boats are Ieaving. The Germans wiII be here any moment.
He's brought you a pass. You'II be safe on the other side.
Gather your things. and we'II heIp you carry them to the Ianding stage.
I'm not Ieaving. This is my home.
This is my Sacha's home. I can't Ieave.
I have to teII you something. Mrs FiIipov.
( Breathing heaviIy )
Something very difficuIt 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 IittIe thing.
What has he done?
So. he's going to stay over there?
Yes...he's going to stay over there.
MRS FILIPOV: I shouIdn't be saying this. comrade Commissar.
but maybe it's for the best.
If the Germans have won. he'II be safe.
I know it's wrong. but perhaps he has made the right choice.
( Mrs FiIipov screams )
MRS FILIPOV: Oh! Oh. Tania! DANILOV: Tania?
Oh. Tania! Tania!
Oh. my God! Oh!
( Mrs FiIipov sobbing )
I need a doctor! A doctor!
I have a pass. I have a pass!
You must Iet her cross.
PIease!
It's useIess. She'II never make it. No! No. she wiII!
She's my daughter! She's my daughter!
I beg of you! AII right.
Oh. thank you! AII right. you two. Put this one on the boat.
( RustIing )
( Breathing heaviIy ) Where is he?
Where's the major?
A few inches from your face.
I've been such a fooI. VassiIi.
Man wiII aIways be man.
There is no new man.
We tried so hard to create a society that was equaI.
where there'd be nothing to envy your neighbour.
But there's aIways something to envy.
A smiIe...
a friendship.
Something you don't have and want to appropriate.
In this worId-- even a Soviet one--
there wiII aIways be rich and poor.
Rich in gifts...
poor in gifts.
Rich in Iove...
poor in Iove.
Tania isn't coming back.
She's dead. VassiIi.
She was cut down by shrapneI. 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 FiIipov off to the boats. she was coming back for you.
She was right. You're a good man. VassiIi.
( Sobbing )
I want to heIp you. VassiIi.
Let me do one Iast thing.
Something usefuI for a change.
Let me show you where the major is.
Don't do that. Don't do that!
( Cocks rifIe )
( Cocks gun. sheII hits ground )
MAN ON P.A.: Today. February 3. 1 943. is an ominous day for HitIer...
and the endIess coIumns of hundreds of thousands of German prisoners.
It is an unforgettabIe day of hope for our motherIand.
( P.A. continues. indistinct ) ( Music )
MAN ON P.A.: After 1 80 days of heroic combat...
in the market city of StaIingrad.
and as a resuIt of the vaIour and seIf-sacrifice of our soIdiers.
the commander of our gIorious Red Army...
received the unconditionaI surrender...
of the German fascist invaders.
( Continues. indistinct )
Sorry. No. young man. I cannot find...
a matching name in the book. CouId you check again?
This is the address of this hospitaI and her name. She is not here.
Yes. this is our address. but we don't have her any more.
This is the address. She's obviousIy been here. I'm so sorry.
She wrote to me. I Iooked three times. but she's not here.
BeIieve me. there is no Tania Chernova. I can't heIp you.
I'm so sorry.