The film begins in June 1941 in the backwater Russian village of Tikhoye in
Soviet Latvia. Priest Alexander carries out the duties of his ministry, helped by his wife, Alevtina. Two days later, German troops occupy the village. As part of an effort to gain the local villagers' favor, the German occupiers are keen to reopen the
Orthodox churches that had been closed by the Soviet authorities. Alexander is offered a position at the
Pskov Orthodox Mission (
Псковская православная миссия) to the
Pskov oblast. An Orthodox church building in the village of Zakaty, confiscated and turned by the previous Soviet authorities into a hall for film showings and the like, is restored to its former use, with the church bell rescued from the lake. However, life under the Nazis is ambiguous and the priest must walk a tightrope (metaphorically) between faithful Christian service and loyalty to his country and people. A poignant scene is the
Easter service, celebrated along with
Red Army POWs surrounded by German guards. Alexander and Alevtina also secretly harbour
Jewish orphans. Alevtina falls ill from contact with the POWs and puts the children first by losing herself in a snowstorm lest she infect the orphans. The film concludes with the Soviets back in power in the region and the priest subsequently imprisoned by the
NKVD on
collaboration charges. The epilogue shows the priest decades later, visited by the orphans he saved many years before. == Cast ==