[2] The film stars Sergey Pakhomov and Vladimir Epifantsev, and follows two Russian officers locked in a military prison cell that must deal with "social and psychological problems" in their isolation through brutality and torture.

Two unnamed junior officers in the Soviet Army, played by Epifantsev and Pakhomov (nicknamed "Bratishka" ("Bro") and "Poyekhavshiy" ("Nutcase") respectively by some fans of the film), arrive to a penal military prison.

Pakhomov is extremely talkative and seemingly delirious, possibly from excessive alcohol consumption, although also friendly and good-natured.

Later, when the exhausted Epifantsev is brought back to the cell and has fallen asleep, Pakhomov defecates on their shared plate, smears himself in feces, and consumes some of it.

The captain (Osmolovsky) arrives to the cell, and teaches the suddenly quiet Pakhomov about the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, particularly the names and quantities of Japanese and American ships on Pearl Harbor.

Epifantsev struggles to get out of the hole in the basement's floor, screaming and ranting of his sanity, and orders Pakhomov to catch a rat for him to eat.

Driven to insanity, Epifantsev beats the captain with a pipe and bites off his face, before sodomizing him and tearing off his trachea.

There are also several black-and-white scenes showing the guard walking the hallways, drinking and eating his meal, and complaining about the prisoner's behavior affecting the prestige of the military.

who were later joined by Vladimir Epifantsev, who occupied the right side of the Factory, and built the Prok-Theater there, in the basement of which the shooting took place.

[8] Oleg Mavromati, the film's producer, admitted in an interview that he used "something like brainwashing in a sect" to convince the actors to "play the right way".

[15] In the Cult of Cinema program on the Russia-K TV channel, Baskova noted that the film, in a certain sense, was conceived as a protest against the Chechen War.

[16] HorrorNews.net wrote an overall favorable review for the film, stating "By the end, we find ourselves asking a lot of questions; of ourselves, of the director, of our television screens.

I can't answer those questions, but I can tell you that it is an experience that I am happy to have gone through, and I'd definitely be interested in checking out more of Svetlana Baskova's movies.

These are absolutely children's symptoms.The Green Elephant has gradually gained a cult following since 2010, in which quotes from the movie were used for trolling multiplayer servers.

[21] On January 5, 2017, Vladimir Epifantsev posted on his Instagram account that he has started working on a remake of the film, known as Operation GE («Операция ZS»), in which he and Sergey Pakhomov will reprise their roles.