Purple Sunset is an anti-war film set in August 1945, at the time during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and when the Japanese were in the throes of defeat during World War II and losing control of mainland China.
Nadja was tasked with escorting Yang to headquarters, but their truck driver Shakov took a wrong turn and strayed into a Japanese garrison.
Most of Soviet soldiers on the truck were killed in the ensuing skirmish but Nadja, Shakov and Yang escaped into a forested area.
As the three crossed a bridge, they came under a grenade attack from a teenage Japanese schoolgirl named Akiyoko and her older sister in a wooden shed.
Fearing that releasing her will alert the Japanese troops, the three take Akiyoko captive and force her to lead them out of the vast forest as a guide.
That night, Yang encounters another flashback; being forced by the Japanese to dump the bodies of dead Chinese civilians into the river.
Akiyoko is reminded of her childhood sweetheart Onishi, who was conscripted as a fighter pilot by the Japanese air force, and in a sudden urge of desperation, runs towards the downed plane.
Knowing that they are unable to outrun the spread of the flames, Akiyoko saves the lives of Yang and Nadja by telling them to stay low to the ground on a burnt patch of grass.
Yang and Nadja later learn about Akiyoko's background: she moved to China with her family as settlers in Manchuria when she was four years old, and grew up in at Greater Khingan.
The three eventually found their way to the same location where they confronted the Japanese troops, and Yang and Nadja realized they have been tricked by Akiyoko by circling around the forest.
Unfortunately, unbeknownst to Akiyoko, Onishi was part of the final fleet of Kamikaze fighter pilots sent to their deaths on August 16, 1945, one day after the Japanese surrender.
Having heard a series of loud explosions, the three then witness a group of Japanese soldiers and civilians committing mass suicide as they could not accept the reality that their country had surrendered.
Akiyoko mistakenly thought they were not informed of the surrender and ran to stop their foolish acts, but was shot in the head by a Japanese captain.
In the present day, an elderly, wheelchair-bound Nadja places flowers on Poklonnaya Gora war memorial with the large numerals "1945" to commemorate Akiyoko's death.
Another flashback to 1945, where a voice from the truck's radio read out a declaration of peace and harmony, as the remaining Japanese troops toss their weapons aside as they make their way towards the sunset.