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Trying to hold the lead in the Space Race, the Soviet Union is preparing two cosmonauts for the first spacewalk.

The film is set in the 60s of the 20th century, during the Cold War and the space race between USSR and the United States. Russians plan to send a man into space. Military pilot Pavel Belyayev and Alexey Leonov are ready to step into the open space. But on the way they face many obstacles and dangers.

The film is set in the 1960s, during the Cold War and the Space Race between Soviet Union and the United States. The Soviets plan to send a man into space. The plan was to launch in 1967, but US has just announced their own space mission and the revised date is now in 1965. The craft Voskhod 2 is far from being ready.

Ex-WW2 pilot, Pavel Belyayev (Konstantin Khabensky), and military test pilot Alexei Leonov (Yevgeny Mironov) are called to man the craft. lieutenant-general Nikolai Kamanin (Anatoliy Kotenyov) sees firsthand pilot Alexei execute a daring maneuver to land a plane after the engine caught fire and eject mechanism failed to fire. Kamanin needs a insane pilot for his project and drafts Alexei. during a skydive Pavel injuries his leg landing (There were 80 mph winds, but Alexei still insists that they should jump as space will have unknown challenges too) and is considered unfit (he has bent his leg, and it is out of shape, but not broken). He is replaced by a new, young, and inexperienced cosmonaut Colonel Yevgeny Khrunov (Aleksandr Novin), much to the Alexei's dismay. Fueled by anger and determination, Pavel recovers (Alexei also helps with Pavel's rehabilitation routines and exercises) through training and eventually is re-admitted, delighting Alexei. Svetlana Leonova (Aleksandra Ursulyak) is Alexei's wife.

During weightless training, Alexei has never managed to enter the simulated airlock, and he complains that the spacesuit is very rigid. He makes several suggestions to the general designer Sergei Korolev (Vladimir Ilyin) & designer Boris Chertok (Yuri Itskov), but this suit will take 3 yrs to build. The other problem is that cosmonauts are required to enter the hatch feet first, as if they enter face first, they can't turn around and close the airlock hatch. During the construction of the craft, a technician is killed, and the engineers question the safety of the craft. A test vehicle, representing the Voskhod 2 spacecraft, breaks up in flight two weeks before the official launch and Soviet engineers cannot identify the causes of the explosion and sudden loss of communication. Korolev explains the failure to the Leader of the Soviet Union Leonid Brezhnev (Valery Grishko). But Brezhnev asks Korolev to go ahead with the mission regardless. For him the spacewalk is the mission, not the safe return of the Cosmonauts. when Korolev resists, Brezhnev indicates that he is replaceable. Korolev meets Alexei and Pavel. Alexei is insistent that he is willing to take the risk. Pavel supports Alexei. The launch is on.

The Voskhod 2 launches on 18th March 1965, and Alexei makes a spacewalk. It is initially successful, and the country celebrates, but Alexei's suit over-inflates, rendering him clumsy and unable to enter the airlock. The ship loses communication with ground control when it enters a dead zone. Control is prepared to jettison the airlock if Alexei is unable to return. Pavel can sense this and seeks permission to enter the airlock himself, to stall ground control. Alexei defies standing procedure and enters the airlock headfirst, but the outer hatch fails to fully close automatically. He semi deflates his suit and turns within the airlock in order to close the hatch but, as a result, his oxygen runs out and he passes out. Pavel drags him into the pod and succeeds in reviving him. The two are instructed to orbit for 22 hours until Cycle 4 when an automatic system will land them. Pavel detaches the craft from the airlock, causing the Voskhod 2 to spin.

Before Cycle 4, Pavel and Alexei feel queasy and find that the oxygen pressure is rising dangerously. Ground control states that the system detected a minor leak and began pumping pure oxygen in response. They are told to find and disconnect a yellow wire in the ceiling to disable it. Pavel passes out from oxygen toxicity, and Alexei takes control, reaching for the wire. The oxygen causes Alexei to hallucinate about his times as a young boy, running in a field, searching for a bird nest. He manages to twist the wire but passes out before it is disconnected. During his hallucination, he remembers reaching out to the bird who injured him, which causes him to flinch and disconnect the wire.

The cosmonauts awake to find that Cycle 4 failed to run on schedule and ground control conclude that the spin of the craft may be to blame. The cosmonauts are permitted to use manual mode to re-direct the ship in order to ensure that it lands within the Soviet Union. Pavel tries to re-orient the craft to face Earth for re-entry, but he has to get out of his seat to get a clear view of the Earth for orientation. This drafts the craft by 7 degrees. There is a chance that the craft bounces off the atmosphere and doesn't re-enter.

After Pavel stabilizes the craft, it re-enters the atmosphere and lands in the Ural Mountains, far from the expected landing site. Planes are dispatched to find them, but their radio signals are not picked up. They have 1 day to survive in freezing cold weather. At every step of the way Korolev is insistent that he will do everything possible to save the cosmonauts, running the danger of angering Moscow and perhaps losing his position at the end. But he is undeterred.

A radio fan on Sakhalin picks up their signals and eventually notifies the Space Agency of their approximate position. A nearby rescue helicopter is ordered to search for them but cannot find them. The helicopter, running out of fuel, is recalled but, with the cosmonauts close to death, the crew spot Alexei's flare.

The cosmonauts arrive by plane at the Agency to meet with their wives and children. Later they parade through Moscow where huge crowds cheer them.