«ZUGZWANG OF OBER LIEUTENANT BRUNO THEVS»

A FULL-LENGTH FEATURE FILM
for wide distribution in Russia, Europe, India, China.

Based on the novel «ZUGZWANG OF OBER LIEUTENANT BRUNO THEVS» from the military novel-trilogy «In THE CIRCLE OF KUNDUZ» by ILIYAS DAUDI.

Genre: Action, Drama, History
Format: full meter; movie series

LONG LINE

This story is about Afghan war and peace, happiness and tragedies, strong friendship and a return to the roots.
— The main character is a Russian German, Bruno Thevs, he is an officer of the special operations forces of the KSK Bundeswehr (FRG), the son of a Soviet soldier who died in 1986 in Afghanistan.
— The desire to get even for the death of his father directs Bruno, who was taken away from the USSR for permanent residence in Germany in 1989 to participate in the military operation of the NATO forces (ISAF) "Enduring Freedom" in the 2010s.
— The victims and destruction inflicted by ISAF, the death in that moloch of his own Afghan bride and close comrades lead to a turning point in the hero's consciousness, a reassessment of the causes of the bloody confrontation.
— Disappointed by the actions of the Western ISAF coalition, not wanting to be part of a cynical military machine, Bruno resigns from military service, returns to his historical homeland in Russia.
— Bruno's gratitude for the hardships and overcoming he experienced, at the end of the story, will be the new happiness he found in Russia.

SINOPSIS

Present time — Bruno Thevs (Bruno), military intelligence officer, Ober lieutenant of the special operations forces of the KSK Bundeswehr (Germany), is serving at the KSK base in Karlsruhe, Germany. After rigorous selection and trials, dreaming of revenge for his father who died in the Soviet-Afghan war (1979-1989), Bruno submits a report to the command to send him to serve in Afghanistan.
The authoritative commission approves the castling, Bruno arrives at the Mazar-I-Sharif airbase in Afghanistan, where he enlists in the special anti-terrorist «TASK FORCE» TF-47 unit of the German forces in the ISAF joint grouping, the North zone, the city of Kunduz.
From the very first days of service in Afghanistan, Bruno, the commander of the TF-47 special forces group, has been involved in dangerous special operations against the radical Taliban movement, manifests himself as a brave, determined warrior.
In the first operation, Bruno prevents a terrorist attack involving suicide truck drivers loaded with explosives who planned to break into the TF-47 garrison in Kunduz.
In other operations, Bruno performs with the group the task of capturing and eliminating Taliban leaders, frees hostages, among whom is a wounded reporter, the correspondent of a major European publication, Otto Greenberg (Otto).
Bruno, by order of the command, delivers the wounded Otto to Kunduz, the hospital of the international humanitarian mission «Doctors Without Borders» (MSF).
An old notebook and a photo of a soldier of the Soviet Army are unexpectedly found in Otto's personal belongings.
Bruno is shocked — after all, this is a notebook and a photo of his father who died in Afghanistan…
Father, Konstantin Thevs from the Volga Germans, a native of Southern Kazakhstan (USSR) in the mid-1980s served as part of a limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan, and together with his comrades fought with the mujahedin.
In one of the heavy battles, Konstantin is seriously wounded and dies. Konstantin's wife, Rosa, Bruno's mother, emigrated to Germany (Freiburg) together with their young son in 1989.
There Bruno grows up and, under the influence of his mother's stories about his father, becomes a professional military intelligence officer.
Bruno's decision to file a report to serve in Afghanistan is connected with a hidden desire to avenge his father.
Friendly relations are established between military intelligence officer Bruno and reporter Otto.
Otto promises Bruno that when he recovers, he will take him to a former mujahedin who gave him a notebook and a photo of the deceased Soviet soldier Konstantin Thevs.
At the MSF hospital, Bruno meets a beautiful, modest oriental girl, Seeta Akhmadzai.
Seeta Akhmadzai is a Pashtun woman born in Germany, a family of Afghan immigrants, who serves as a doctor at MSF in Kunduz.
Bruno is fascinated by Seeta, shows signs of attention in every possible way. Seeta accepts Bruno's courtship with restraint. Seeta, although born and raised in Germany, is still brought up in strict Muslim traditions, observes the canons.
The probability that Seeta's family will allow her to marry a non-believer Bruno is negligible, but the approaching Bruno and Seeta do not lose hope.
The wounded Otto is recovering in the hospital and, as promised, takes Bruno to a remote mountain village to the former mujahedin one-armed Ismatullah.
Ismatulla tells Bruno under what circumstances he had a notebook and a photo of the deceased Konstantin Thevs.
Ismatulla agrees to take Bruno and Otto to the mountains — to the site of the last bloody battle, where Konstantin Thevs was mortally wounded.
In the narrative of mujahid Ismatullah, Bruno reconstructs the picture of that battle, and realizes that Ismatullah is obviously the one who fatally wounded his father.
Ismatullah, who lost his arm in that battle and almost lost his life, sincerely empathizes those who lost their relatives in the Afghan war in the 1980s, speaks with respect about the Soviet soldiers, brave and worthy.
Ismatullah admits to Bruno that he has largely revised his previous views, and would not fight with Shuravi now, but despite his advanced age, he is still ready to take up arms again to beat the occupiers from the ISAF coalition.
Bruno is puzzled by Ismatullah's position, because ISAF, in his opinion, is fighting international terrorism, protecting Afghan civilians!
During his service, Bruno becomes an eyewitness to the death of a large number of civilians in ISAF operations, and with each case he becomes more and more convinced of the harm of the presence of the ISAF coalition in Afghanistan. The result: hundreds of innocent victims, hundreds of seriously injured — all children.
Is this a deliberate blow or a tragic mistake?!
Reporter Otto, fulfilling his journalistic duty, despite the deadly danger, uses his contacts with the Taliban to shoot a live report in the village of Daftani, the site of the tragedy, to interview the parents of the dead children.
On the frames of the video camera, Otto captures horrific scenes with fragments of bodies scattered on the site, rows of children's shoes left at the place of prayer, mournful memorial services in the courtyards for the dead children, grief-stricken relatives, a damaged mosque, destroyed residential buildings.
Otto's truthful revelatory material about the tragedy in Daftani, published in the world's leading publication, caused a wide public outcry and condemnation of ISAF's actions in the world, strengthening Otto's authority among the Taliban.
Contrary to the horrifying facts, heralds from the official Afghan media and the ISAF coalition call what happened in Daftani the destruction of the Taliban training center together with the leaders.
The Taliban respond to the tragedy in Daftani by kidnapping the son of the commander of the Bundeswehr garrison, Colonel (Oberst) Georg Jung, Bruno's immediate superior, Alfred, who flew from Munich to visit his father.
Bruno volunteers to help in the release of Alfred Jung, turns to Otto with a request to talk to the Taliban about the exchange of Alfred.
Otto is staunchly opposed, because he is shocked by the victims of Daftani and does not want to deal with an officer who gave orders for the use of military force against civilians.
Bruno pushes Otto, argues that he owes his rescue from Taliban captivity to TF-47 special forces and directly to Oberst Jung. As a result, he persuades Otto to reach out to the Taliban, to ask for exchange conditions.
The Taliban's terms are accepted by TF-47. For Alfred Jung, the Taliban demand 5 of their regional leaders from captivity.
As a guarantee of security, the Taliban demand that Bruno and Otto be taken hostage before the exchange is completed. The conditions are accepted.
Loving Seeta is heartily worried about Bruno. The young are waiting for the blessing of the marriage of Seeta's parents. The mother, who understands Seeta in a feminine way, persuades her husband Ayub to agree. Ayub, firmly against the gentile Bruno, but after learning that he is the son of a Soviet soldier who died in Afghanistan, surrenders under persuasion. Bruno and Seeta are immensely happy, preparing for the wedding.
But happiness is not destined to come true: an airstrike by the American ISAF Air Force on the MSF Doctors Without Borders hospital leaves over a hundred dead under the rubble, including Seeta. Bruno is heartbroken. Hates the culprits.
The exchange of Alfred Jung and the Taliban leaders in action — the parties exchange prisoners, Otto and Bruno are released.
Oberst Jung and Alfred with senior TF-47 officers get into armored personnel carriers, drive off. Bruno's group of special forces is waiting for him and Otto. Before Otto and Bruno have time to leave the exchange site, ISAF helicopter gunships appear in the sky and begin hitting the Taliban with rockets.
The Taliban are returning fire on helicopters and special forces. Their automatic burst hits Otto. Dying, Otto forcefully says «it was impossible to believe Oberst Jung».
Bruno is furious: who called the aviation and ordered to open fire?
Bruno breaks into Oberst Jung's office, sweeps the documents off his desk and harshly reprimands the claim.
Bruno, completely disappointed in the ISAF mission, cynical, inhumane methods, returns to Germany, resigns from military service.
Bruno goes to the city of birth — Dzhambul. There he pours a handful of earth from the place of the disastrous battle on his father's grave and, in fulfillment of the purpose of the old notebook, flies to Moscow.
Bruno calls the phone numbers of an old notebook and finds his father's surviving friend, the legless invalid Rust.
Legless invalid Rust introduces Bruno to Masha, the daughter of one of the three survivors of the war, but who died at the walls of the House of Soviets in October 1993 Koster (Ivan Kostrov).
United by a common misfortune — the loss of their fathers, Bruno and Masha are connected by a relationship.
The events in Russia will fill Bruno's life with meaning, hope for the future.