In 1988, at a recruitment base in Krasnoyarsk, young Soviet Army conscripts say farewell to their families and loved ones before preparing to leave for military duty.

Fellow recruits Lyutyi, Chugun, Gioconda, Ryaba, Stas, and Vorobey are assigned to the 345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment for eventual deployment to Afghanistan.

Arriving at their bootcamp in the Fergana Valley of Uzbekistan, the recruits meet Chechen conscript Pinochet and their drill instructor, Senior Warrant Officer Dygalo, a traumatized Afghanistan veteran.

The company, led by Captain "Kagraman" Bystrov, leaves the base to deliver supplies to an isolated Soviet Army outpost.

The next day, Khokhol orders Gioconda to find matches, who fearfully enters an Afghan village alone to trade food for them.

Pinochet is reassigned to the company, reuniting with his friends, and the men mourn their lost comrades while celebrating New Year's Eve.

Lyutyi emerges as the sole survivor, but learns from an arriving colonel that the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan already began, rendering the battle meaningless.

[5] The film received a mixed reaction from the veterans of that war, who pointed to a number of inaccuracies, but nevertheless, judging by ticket sales, it was embraced by the general public and even by Russian President Vladimir Putin.