I watched this film to practice my German ... most of it is in Russian! I enjoyed this film much more than expected. It is well acted and directed and demonstrates very well how ordinary men deal with extraordinary circumstances. It is a moving film and illustrates how war is never a black and white, the good people versus the bad people, good against bad. War is designed by the few and fought by the many, teachers and musicians amongst the soldiers, I liked it very much and would give it an even higher score were it not for the clichés. But it does demonstrate how armies in war situations are composed of men and women who might otherwise have preferred quite a different life.