[5][6][7] In a rural village of ethnic Estonians in Abkhazia, a Russian-backed separatist region in the newly independent Georgia, Ivo and his friend Margus are the only two of their once large community who have not fled for Estonia after the outbreak of the war.

Ahmed, the surviving Chechen, and Nika, a Georgian volunteer, are both gravely wounded, and Ivo brings them into his home to nurse them back to health.

When Abkhaz soldiers come to the house, Ivo convinces Ahmed to tell them that Nika is also a fellow Chechen whose head wound has left him unable to speak.

Ahmed tells Ivo that he misses his own family, and begins his drive home to a Chechnya that will be plunged into a similar bloody war less than two years later.

The closing credits of Tangerines features a famous Georgian song, ქაღალდის გემი (მე გადმოვცურავ ზღვას), performed by Irakli Charkviani.

Originally from Charkviani's 1993 album "Svan Songs", the composition is roughly contemporaneous with the events described in the film and touches on the theme of longing and reuniting after a period of separation.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Tangerines' impassioned message and the strong work of a solid cast more than make up for the movie's flawed narrative and uneven structure.