Excellent, smart action film.

A Disappointing Continuation

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

This is a true story of an Episode in the Soviet Offensive to liberate Kiev.Late-Summer/Fall 1943, the Wehrmacht is in retreat. The battle of the Kursk Salient has cost them 100,000's of casualties. 4 Panzer Divisions have been completely wiped out, they are unable to hold ground and cross the Dnipro river to the western shore and begin to dig in expecting reinforcements to fill up defenses along the river. The Soviet Army begins a build up of manpower and equipment to storm across the river and liberate Kiev. There is only one problem. Information about German strength is not available, from all indications Axis troops have powerful forces along the river all the way to the Black Sea.There have been some probing missions, but these have mostly been failures. Germans have begun bombing Soviet Supply dumps with Bombers near the Dnipro river. Divisional command decides to use artillery against the enemy and send an Anti-Tank Battalion on a suicide mission to set up a beachhead on the other side so that Soviet troops can begin crossing the river.They 1st do not encounter anything, but in the end fight a battle to the death to survive.

This mini-series provides a detailed account of several days of intense fighting on the Eastern Front during one of the Soviet offensives. For those of you not interested in military history this is still a good chance to get acquainted with the style and spirit of Soviet/Russian war films.Comparable with other classics of Soviet war cinema, such as "They fought for the Motherland", "Batalyony" portrays war without embellishment or pomp. It's not gory or excessively violent in the portrayal, but as the plot develops the simple and yet immense tragedy of humans trapped in a deadly meat grinder speaks louder than expensive special effects of super-human stunt tricks.A brilliant performance by Zbruyev, Brondukov and Sklyar, whose names might not mean much to the Western audience, but whose careers in the Soviet cinema are inextricably linked with this series.I would highly recommend "Batalyony" to those who liked the "Thin Red Line" or "Blackhawk Down". The same message of the importance of understated individual courage and faithfulness to one's brothers in arms prevails here. Do not expect the pathos of "Enemy at the Gates" from this series. It is simply a must for those who would really like to learn more about Russian culture and a highly enjoyable one too.