The storyline is simple, and switches between the lightness of wanting to live a normal life and the hard facts of ongoing war. It depicts the life of Soviet officers, moved from one war to another, over the 20th Century. Having a family life or any other life would have been close to impossible, even if they survived. There is nothing romantic about the portrayal of war, although much of the movie involves private interactions among friends and loved ones. It is the stark contrast between these two things that the movie is really about and what makes it powerful. And the bullet wounds in the protagonist's back are real. A simple but great movie about war and about the survival of the spirit during times of war. The end is very sad and moving.