One-Two, Soldiers Were Going...

In the present-day storyline, Colonel Konstantin Svyatkin celebrates his recent promotion with colleagues when he receives a postcard inviting him to Podbednya station, where his father perished three decades earlier. Raised in an orphanage after his mother's early death, Konstantin barely remembers his father. On the train to Podbednya, he meets Anna Velenstovich, whose father, Junior Lieutenant Igor Suslin, died in the same battle. Anna, who arranged the gathering, and the local village leader hope to unite relatives of the fallen soldiers. The event brings together those connected by shared loss, including a witness to the battle, Valentina Ivanovna, who recalls the night Suslin's platoon stayed in her family's home before heading to their final battle. The 1944 storyline centers on Junior Lieutenant Suslin, recently assigned to command an anti-tank platoon. Among his soldiers is Corporal Svyatkin, a lighthearted but battle-hardened soldier known as "Matchmaker," who has already taken out three German tanks. Upon arrival at Podbednya, Suslin's platoon receives orders to spend the night at Ilyinka and proceed to Rumyantsevo. That night, Svyatkin celebrates the birthday of his newborn son with comrades, though he humorously claims he has “no birthday” of his own. Suslin, too, reconnects with an old classmate and spends the evening with her. By morning, he learns from a wounded colonel that a German motorized unit has broken through the lines and is advancing toward Ilyinka. Suslin's platoon, including the experienced yet playful Svyatkin, is tasked with a critical mission: to hold the line and prevent the enemy from reaching the many wounded soldiers in the area, setting the stage for the sacrifice that would become the focus of commemoration decades later. == Cast ==