a different perspective. less heroic. more human. about fragility, friendship, errors, sacrifice and the importance of the other. a film about men in middle of terror. and about war. not as example of blockbuster's subject, not as fresco of cruelty and victories, far by romantic nuances or dark circles. only a honest picture about few men looking survive. a film who reminds a sort of innocence and force and courage and old fashion support for be in real, deep sense , yourself. one of Russian films who are not an artistic success but a story about life who defines things, events, sacrifice and purpose of facts in different, nuanced light.

Unlike films made about war, this one paints the soul of the young recruit in different ways to capture a unique Russian feeling. The first half of the film is about seasoning the body for battle but reflected in the eyes of each boy. There is nothing new here except the director is able to capture moments that any soldier can understand.I found this part of the film extremely powerful and much better than what American and British directors have been able to produce even for some excellent films (Sean Connery in the Hill, Kirk Douglas in Paths of Glory.) Lots of viewers compare 9th Company with Platoon. It's like saying apples and oranges are fruits but both are very different.The second half of the film becomes an obligatory showcase of battle and death that movies of this type require. Here again the flavor of Russian patriotism, or lack thereof is emphasized. Again the director shows flair and some interesting editing but many war movies have done this equally well. So its not boring but also not introspective.The best war movie ever is also Russian "Come and See". You should watch this and compare. I did and it knocked me over more so than the 9th Company which I still recommend worth seeing.

As the movie opens and we see a squad of young, boisterous, Soviet civilians enter basic training, get their heads embaldened, and loafing around joking afterwards, my initial thought what "WTF? What kind of an army is this?" We see a recruit attacking his barber and cutting a swath through his hair with electric clippers because he didn't like the barber's twitting him. I had my hair cut off too, along with dozens of others, but everyone was hypervigilant, too nervous to gripe about any indignities. Then, now bald, the men pass the time in the barracks waiting to be told what to do and they share a bottle of VODKA and get loaded. This is the first day of basic training? Later they sneak off and gang bang a local girl, then pass around a joint. This is an ARMY? There is the usual diversity among the men, but not very like an American combat film. No Texans or wise guys from Brooklyn. But there are class differences. One soldier who has eaten out of garbage cans snaps at another who is an educated artist. The training regimen soon turns earnest, rigorous, and brutal -- and much more familiar. The F bomb is generously deployed, along with plenty of single entendres. The battle-scarred drill sergeant always in a rage, swearing and humiliating the men. The growing cohesiveness and developing friendships within the squad. Actually, we get to like the guys because we can identify with them, just as in an American movie.There's a touching scene involving the camp's whore, who is blond and rather plain. The squad are all stoned but the chuckling dies down as they trade ideas about wounds and death. The artist is sent by the others into the next room with "Snow White," the blond, told to lose his virginity and become a real man. The girl is sweaty and bedraggled but the young man sees beauty behind the ordinariness. He tells her so and she giggles in surprise, disbelief, and the kind of relief an animal must feel when, instead of the usual kick, he's petted instead. And when the artist pulls her naked back into the squad room, he shouts that he's found Venus rising from the sea. The other men, howling with laughter, throw themselves at her feet while she holds her fingers to her over-ripe lips and laughs in little bursts, half uncomprehending and half swooning with pleasure.In the second part of the film the squad reaches Afghanistan and most of the jokes disappear. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. (Eventually something is going to kill you, though.) The combat scenes are savage and yet recognizable from American movies about Vietnam or, more particularly, from "Blackhawk Down." It takes a little getting used to because at first the uniforms, weapons, and military protocol are a little different from ours. And at first it's odd to hear up-to-date American voices and slang terms from other nationals but the pattern soon reveals itself and we can sit back and watch another movie about a futile war against the masked and black-robed Mujuhadin against whom we would send our own troops in another twelve or thirteen years.

I was a bit unsure wither or not to watch this film as it would mean staying up to 2am in the morning, but having done so I am extremely glad as this is a magnificent film, which pulls no punches about the horrors of war. The first part of the film dealing with basic training for raw recruits and the sheer brutality imposed on them and is similar to, as most reviewers have pointed out, the Hollywood blockbuster Full Metal Jacket.For me the plane crash scene is the introduction to the Afghan war and shows recruits stepping of the plane in Afghanistan and being replaced by jubilant veteran soldiers returning home having completed their tour of duty. The plane takes off and is then hit by an Afghan rebel SAM missile therefore forcing the plane to land again. Just as you think the plane has landed safely, a tyre bursts and it skids and crashes into a fuel dump thus incinerating everyone inside it.All this happens in front of the newly arrived recruits and sets the tone for the remaining action scenes in the film. I would not say this it is anti-war film but more like a film that show the horrors of war, which is not a bad thing.