Powerful anti-war drama about two Russian soldiers imprisoned by the Chechen freedom fighters. In the Kaukasus a Russian patrol is attacked. Only two soldiers survive the ambush: veteran Sasha (Oleg Menchikov) and recruit Vanya (Sergei Bodrov jr). They are taken to the village of Abdul-Mourat, a Chechen whose son has been imprisoned by the Russians. He hopes to force an exchange. While they wait for the outcome of the tedious negotiations, the prisoners make contact with the villagers, especially with their guard, the dumb Hassan and with the daughter of Abdul-Mourat. The young girl falls for Vanya, who repairs watches and other items for the villagers. During an escape attempt, the veteran Sasha is killed and when the son of Abdul-Mourat dies, a swap is no longer possible. Many villagers argue that the young Vanya should be executed.Kavkazskij plennik was shot in Dagestan, neighbouring Chechnya. The film-crew itself was also imprisoned temporarily by young Dagestan mountain dwellers who thought they were not getting paid enough. The wonderful mountain landscape of the Caucasus also has its dramatic political situation. Ever since the areas were overrun in the last century by Czarist Russia, they have been kept in check by hard-handed military violence. Just how little has changed becomes clear from the fact that Bodrov’s film is based on a story by Tolstoi, who visited the area 150 years ago.
