1942, the German wehrmacht is trying to capture the Baku oilfields at the black sea. Their biggest obstacle are the Kaukasian Mountains and few Russians soldiers to stop them. The story revolves around an important Mountain Pass, that is heavily contested by both sides. The director uses the black & white photography to it's fullest potential. It looks spectacular. There are some special effects, but mostly a lot of dangerous stunt man/woman work. Hand to Hand combat over sheer cliffs, reckless disregard for dangerous calculations,to take advantages, are common. Also was I impressed about the superb acting. One of the very best war movies that I've seen. And that without much knowledge about the Russian language. The VHS version I watched, had no English subtitles.