EPISODE FOUR
Iím ready for dinner.
Come, you will sit with me.
Iím sorry, I canít. Iím going over to 
a girlfriendís house - we have to study.
Can I?
How old are you? Sixteen!
Whatís that lipstick for?
Trying to attract men, are you?
Father, what are you saying?
I know what Iím saying!
You know what women
like that are called?
Bottom ruble whores, thatís how!
Is that what you want?
Everyone wears lipstick these daysÖ
You are my daughter!
And donít you ever forget it!
Everyone! Who is everyone?
Alexandra! Alexandra!
Iím here, Joseph Vissarionovich.
Where is she going?
Who is this girlfriend?
To DosiaÖ Morozova.
Do you know this Morozova?
No.
Get ready, youíre going with her.
Thatís alright, she doesnít have to go.
Oh, so youíre going
to see him, arenít you?
To that Jew of yours?
To that old alley cat!
Donít speak about him that way.
You are my daughter!
Mine!
Lock her up! Maybe under lock and
key you will come back to your senses!
Go!
Yes, Joseph VissarionovichÖ
Some tea, maybe?My poor poor girl.
Vasily Josephovich, the boys at the garage
told a joke about Hitler! Want to hear it?
Go on.
So Hitler goes for a
visit to the mental asylum.
All the patients are rounded up into
two lines, they all go ìHeil HitlerîÖ
Throwing up the right
hand and all that stuffÖ
He walks to the end of the line and
sees that the last man didnít greet him.
So Hitler asks ìWhy
didnít you greet me?î
And the man answers- ìIím not one
of the crazies- I just work here.î
He works thereÖ
Youíre looking very glum,
Vasily Josephovich. Did something happen?
What could have happened to me?
What can ever happen
to me while Iím here?
Iím under so much protection that
even the sniffles wonít come dare me.
Why am I here, fed and warm, gathering
mold while my friends are at the front?
Can you tell me that?
Well, someone needs to
man the fort, I supposeÖ
Who else is there?
Let the church mice sit it
out behind the frontlinesÖ
Iím a damn pilot not a paper
clip in some office, understand?
Why am I even so mad at you?
Itís not like itís your faultÖ
Forgive me.
I asked to be sent to the
front twice myself, you know?
They didnít let meÖ ìMan the wheel, the
 war will be won without youî - they said.
Donít you dare! Who will
drive me around then?
My advice
- donít stick your neck out while Iím still here.
When I go
- you goÖ Understood?
Yes sir, Vasily Josephovich.
Maybe they wonít be able to win
the war without us, after all.
Enter.
Comrade Stalin, Colonel
Stalin reporting as ordered.
Stop yelling.
This headache has been
killing me all day as it is.
It must be the weather
change affecting me.
Iím getting old.
Are you mad at me?
Not at all.
Sit down.
Lavrentiy told me
about your little chat.
Why didnít you come to me? Why him?
Youíre always busy. They
donít let me see you.
FatherÖ  Let me go to the front.
The front?
Did Lavrentiy show you the newspaper?
The one where Yakov is with the GermansÖ
But you donít believe that
Yakov could have done it, do you?
I donít, you donítÖ
But the rest of the world
watches and believes.
Iím not holding you back, Vasily.
But if you are ever
taken prisoner like YakovÖ
Understand what shame
it would bring upon me.
What shame it would bring
on the entire country.
You will fly to Stalingrad.
With an inspection.
When you return - you can decide what
 you want to do next yourself.
Go now.
Where are we going,
Vasily Josephovich? You didnít tell meÖ
The airport.
Really?
Joseph Vissareonovich allowed
you to go to the front?
He did but not entirely.
Iím going to head an
inspection but thatís alright.
This is something different entirely!
Itís not like being the
Inspector Firing Squad!
You bet!
But be careful down
there, Vasily Josephovich!
Only a fool isnít afraid
of the war! Iím afraid!
But you know whatís scarier?
Being told later that while my friends were
 killing Germans - I hid behind my surname!
I understand.
Well if you understand then
why are we driving so slow?
Step on it, will you?
Yes sir, Vasily Josephovich!
Vasily Josephovich!
Oh, itís thewriter! What
are you doing in Stalingrad?
Iím a correspondent for the Red Star.
The Red Star you say? Well thatís a noble deed
- write about us!
How am I supposed to write anything if
they donít let me go to the other shore?
What do you mean?
They keep saying that I will
get in the way and be a burden!
What am I, an infant or something?
The readers deserve to know what their
sons, fathers and brothers look like.
You speak the truth. Beautifully too.
But you writers donít always
put the truth on paper.
Or will you tell me otherwise?
Your scripts for example. Do they
always tell things the way they happened?
What do my scripts have to do
with anything? This is different.
This is real life. Truth and
struggle is whatís needed here.
Otherwise my conscience wouldnít
allow me to sleep at night.
Or did I come to the front to
hide behind the backs of others?
Alright, Iíll help you
- they will let you come.
Thank you.
Donít thank me yet.
Just be careful, alright?
So that I wonít have to wipe Svetaís
tears off her cheeks later, understand?
Otherwise they will drown me!
Alright, good seeing you.
You as well.
Moscow speaking. News from
the Soviet information bureau.
On the night of the 3rd of December, North-West
of Stalingrad, during a fierce battle,
N company managed to
secure a fortified position.
27 enemy bunkers have been demolished, a
battalion of German infantry has been destroyed,
4 artillery and 7 machine guns, 35 assault
rifles as well as many more have been captured,
On the other side, three counter attacks
of the enemy have been fought off.
Over 600 enemy corpses have
remained on the battlefield.
At 4:15, around Verkho-Krimskaya, the
pilots of the 520 air battalion managed to
down an enemy spy
plane, model Fokker Wolf.
What about the crew?
The crew, consisting of three
people, has been taken prisoner.
Good job! You are fierce fighters!
I donít think the Germans
are going to like that.
Who would?
Any response?
The enemy has not undertaken any
response action in the past 24 hours.
After noon they intensified artillery
fire at infantry squads 197 and 198.
The next day they flew several
planes on a scouting mission.
We couldnít shoot down any one of them
- they never got close enough.
They were too afraid so
they just circled around us.
They are preparing something.
What is the intelligence on this?
We are waiting for the assault.
I seeÖ
Prepare a report concerning all the issues we
 discussed - I will include it in my report.
Also, contact the Volzskaya flotilla and tell
them to get a certain correspondent across.
His surname is Kapler. Did you get that?
I did but the fighting is incredibly intense
over there. Do you think heíll handle it?
Donít worry, he will
- heís a tough one.
I wish I was there.
So, correspondent. Do you
have the material you need?
When should we send you back?
I think I have everything
I need. Well, almost.
They are waiting for my
article at the newspaper.
What did you write? What will
be the name of the article?
Something like ìRussian heroes are giving
the Germans a beating they wonít forgetî?
Thatís a little over the top, Iím afraid. It
will be simply called ìA lieutenantís letterî.
About the heroism of the
defenders of Stalingrad?
What else would I write
about? Cowardice or something?
I suppose you know better, seeing
everything from the sidelines.
But there would be no
heroism without cowardice.
What do you mean? How should
I interpret that, Captain?
Interpret that any way you want to.
Iíve only cowards left in my battalion
- the heroes are all in the ground already.
What does the hero think? He thinks
that he canít be hit by a bullet.
That he is special and unique
and that death will pass him by.
So he does what he wants to,
whatís needed and what isnít.
The coward thinks about staying alive.
He thinks that he is defenseless
against bullets and shrapnel.
He feels death breathing down his neck.
To kill a German is great and allÖ
But staying alive is
what they think about.
There will be more Germans to
kill whichever way you look at it.
But one needs to be careful.
Thatís a curious theory you have there.
Almost an entire philosophy.
What paper are you writing this for?
Iím writing to a girl. The one I love.
I see.
Then write.
My love. I donít know if
this letter will reach you.
It has a very long road to travel.
But I hope it will reach you.
That it will survive enemy fire
and cross the Volga and the steppes.
Through winds and snowstorms it will
bring to beautiful Moscow my love for you.
My soul mate. Snow had fallen on
Stalingrad today. Winter is here.
The sky descended and now hangs
low like the ceiling of a hut.
In this foul weather I canít help
but let my thought pace to you.
I will write to you
whenever I have a moment.
I want you to know about our
lives and the struggle we face.
About what we feel and what we
think about here in Stalingrad.
I want to tell you about the
fate of a small friend of mine.
He took part in our
assault, his name was Volya.
He was a normal boy from Stalingrad. He
was left an orphan and joined our ranks.
He didnít really even join
- it was more like we adopted him.
He was a gloomy, silent boy. None of us
really knew what was going on in his heart.
We could only wonder about
what he must be going through.
I donít think he was always this way.
The death of his loved ones must
have changed him to become like this.
I out this basement I
can see a wide square.
It has been reduced to rubble.
There is no way across it.
Every inch of it is watched by dozens of
gun barrels, both ours and the enemyís.
On the other side of the square there is
a red house with no roof, doors or windows.
The red of the brick had been almost
completely charred black by fire and smoke.
That red house was to be taken
back by any means necessary.
Squad, follow me.
Keep up.
That night Captain Sauntov and eight
troops were supposed to capture the house,
fight off the Germans and set
up defense inside at any cost.
It took them hours to get to the house through
the rubble and debris littering the square.
The city had been reduced to ruin.
The sky was filled with smoke as explosions
and German flares illuminated the night.
With every step forward they
realized that there was no way back.
As it later turned out, Volya
followed Sauntovís squad.
At first they didnít notice him but when
they finally did it was already too late.
Thatís how he made it to the red house
along with Sauntov and his troops.
Cover me!
Follow me!
Hit them with a grenade.
Come on, guys!
Sinitsin, go on!
Get to the attic!
Wait up!
Look at the goÖ
Those who havenít been here will never fully
know what it really means to cross a street.
A street they could have crossed in a
couple of minutes a mere two years ago.
The situation deteriorated to a complete
loss of communication with Sauntovís group.
It was only because of the incessant
German fire directed at the red house
that we knew that our boys are still
there, that they are holding on.
In the days that followed the Naziís tried
to take back the red house many times.
But all the paths to the house were in
our crosshairs from the side of the square.
From the opposite side the nine soldiers
held their ground inside the house.
Good boy.
Get back!
Volka! Volka!
Fire!
Volka, reloadÖ
Yell hooray so the Germans
think thereís many of us!
Yell hooray so the Germans
think thereís many of us!
Hooray!
Hooray!
On the sixth day I managed to get inside
the red house along with several troops.
We found nine dead bodies
and a heavily wounded Sauntov.
Volya lay by the window gripping
the cold barrel of a machinegun.
Blood had turned to
crust on his foreheadÖ
The gun looked like a
toy in his small hands.
Locks of hair were sticking
out from underneath the hat.
The boyís eyes were still open.
They reflected the charred buildings of
his hometown, and the Stalingrad winter sky.
Every person is brought
into this world for a reason.
Some are destined to make
something good their whole life,
even if itís just putting
stamps on envelopes.
Others
- to only yell ìForwardî just once.
His life may have been short but he will
remain an important part of the book of life.
Even if only as a comma or a
dot or a single solitary letter.
The chapter of history
that is being written now
will tell the story of how the Soviet
people fought off a wave of barbarians.
And Volya will become a comma
ensuring its continuation.
Be strong Captain.
They will take you to the
hospital and fix you right up.
Well, Mr. Writer, seems Iíve
dragged you into a fight.
You got it good.
Nonsense. Itís a mere flesh wound.
When do you leave?
The scouts will be here
for me in thirty minutes.
Itís a shame we wonít
have a drink before you go.
We will see each other again. You
just focus on getting better, alright?
So how should I write about you?
Are you a hero or a
coward by your theory?
Iím no hero.
Thereís was a boiler behind the houseÖ
Our two battalions used to
shower thereÖ Wash our thingsÖ
Then we gave put on a show, so
you have something to write about.
I will write about you.
My love, I will write you
and await your letters.
If you only knew how
much I need them here.
Itís almost nightfall. Just like
itís almost nightfall in Moscow.
The walls of the Kremlin are visible from
your window and above it the Moscow sky.
Maybe itís snowing over
there too as I write this.
Your L.
What is this?
What do you mean, father?
Youíre asking me what I mean?
You little read headed bitch!
What did you have with him?
Tell me!
Nothing happened?
So why does this prick write
letters like this to you?
Why do you think this
letter is intended for me?
Are there many Svetaís
living in the Kremlin?
He calls you by name!
Itís all that Jewish cunning! He
canít even write in Russian properly!
If you want to marry so much why
didnít you find a Russian instead?
What are you saying, father?
Where is your shame?
Where is your shame,
you stupid little girl?
Just tuned eighteen and already
found yourself a man, have you?
But mother was younger
when she married you.
You think your mother would have been happy
if she found out about your proclivities?
You think she would have been glad her
daughter tied herself to a man twice her age?
He is twenty years your senior.
Have you thought of that?
Iíve been told everything about him!
How the bitches chase him all the time!
No! No!
What no? You stupid girl!
All writers are
degenerates and alcoholics!
Alright, go on.
Yes, yes.
Warm greetings to the
workers of the pen and paper!
Hello!
Oh, Lesha! Welcome back!
Thank you!
How are you?
This is Stalingrad.
Iíll tell you everything.
What happened with your hand?
Nazi shrapnel.
Irina, my dear!
Iíve missed you so much!
Weíve been reading your
love letters nonstop.
What do you mean?
What do we mean!
You are so humble that the Red
Star no longer fits his ambitions.
He wants the Tribune
of Truth, nothing less!
Our boss gave you a
present! Wait right there.
Here you go.
But I never submitted this to Pravda.
Thatís right!
But our boss had a visit from a Pravda man
and he grabbed your material like a gypsy!
Our conservative editor would have never
published it. Pravda on the other handÖ
Then letís have a drink,
since Iím back alive and well.
Wait just a moment.
Did you write everything down?
I didÖ
Yes.
Hello, Svetlana.
Hello.
Hi, did you recognize me?
Of course.
I came back todayÖ YesÖ
Iíve already seen the
paper. How are you?
Alright.
Can I come? Iím coming over!
Just let me drop my things off first
at the hotel and Iíll be right over.
Iíll be waiting.
See you soon.
It is an incredible article!
Shall we?
SergeevichÖ
Thank you.
For being together again, my closest!
Alright!
Citizen Kapler?
Yes, thatís me.
You are under arrest. Here is your warrant
- take a look.
What for?
You are suspected of
spying for the British.
You will be informed of further
details by the detective.
Your weapon, please.
Citizen Kapler, follow us.
Hello, is this the newsroom?
Could you please tell me if
Alexey Kapler is still there?
I called the hotel and they
told me he never showed up.
What do you mean arrested?
Yes, I understandÖ thank youÖ
Iím listening.
Hello, itís me.
Hello, Svetlana.
Are you mad at me?
Donít be mad at papa.
Papa is having a very
hard time right now.
There is a war on, Svetlana.
Papa is very lonely.
Do you hear me, Svetlana?
I do. What did you
have him arrested for?
Why donít you ask Beria? He told me
your precious Kapler is a British spy!
It came as a blow to me as well.
What will become of him?
By the laws of wartime he will be
shot. Nothing I can do, Iím afraid.
Nothing at all.
I love himÖ Canít you understand that?
I love him.
Stop your hysterics, Svetlana!
If he dies, Iíll shoot myself as wellÖ
Just like mother shot
herself, do you hear me?
Iím listening.
Vasya, itís me.
What do I do, Vasya? He tortured
me for KaplerÖ the things he said.
Sveta, have you gone to see him again?
Donít you read Pravda?
Yes I do, not every day but I do.
They published an article about a
boy from Stalingrad written by Kapler.
And so what Sveta? I read it, itís a fine
article but what does it have to do with you?
So he said that it was some kind of
special love letter intended for me.
And that now I, his daughter, had been
shamed for the entire country to see.
What do I do, Vasya? I
donít want to live anymore.
Relax, Sveta! You know our father
- he will yell a bit and calm down eventually.
Have a sedative and go to bed.
Vasya, Iíll shoot
myself like our mother.
Sveta! Sveta, donít hang up!
Sveta!
Hey you! Hey!
Drink!
I said drink! Hey, Iím talking to you!
Iím not your ìhey!
At a Caucasian table you talk
a lot and drink very little.
Sit.
At a Russian table you
talk little but drink a lot.
Thatís why I prefer the Russian table.
Of all the Svanidzeís only
our Yakov doesnít talk much.
But am I not a Dzhugashivi, father?
What kind of a Dzhugashvili are you?
When a Dzhugashivili shoot
- they hit their target.
You shot and you missed.
Joseph cut it out! What are
you doing? Have some shame!
Shut up!
I hate you.
Sadist.
Donít be mad at papa, Yakov.
I was only joking.
Granny, will they let us in soon?
Be patient, they will let us inÖ
Whatís the word?
I wasnít allowed to see him.
They didnít even take my letterÖ
they said itís not allowed.
Give me the letter, Iíll pass it on.
Weíll think of something.
Everything will be fine, do you hear me?
He will be alright. I promise you.
Letís go.
Any news on Vasily?
He is serving, Comrade Stalin.
Does he drink?
No more than others.
What does that mean?
They are pilots
- they all drink.
Does it have any effect
on their combat skills?
It almost seems it benefits them.
Why do you say ìseemsî?
It benefits them, Comrade Stalin.
My children a curse - one drinks ìno more than
 the othersî, the other has wind in her head.
Vasily and Svetlana became
orphans at an early ageÖ
They? Orphans?
What about me? What am I?
She didnít just abandon them
- she abandoned me as well!
The childrenÖ they forgot all
about her on the third day.
She managed to scar me for life.
She didnít just shoot herself
- she shot me in the back as well.
Vasily doesnít even think
about her these days.
What are you so silent about, Nikolai!?
We arenít strangers, you know?
You brought up my
children when Nadya left.
You always try to protect Vasily even
though he has everything he could want.
What else could he need?
Joseph Vissarionovich, Vasya and Sveta
are children, they are still dumb.
Some day they will understand.
Do you believe that yourself?
Alright, maybe they will.
Thank you for looking after Vasily.
Go.
