Watch on Soap2day. Vladimir Rudnev, a VGIK graduate, newsreel cameraman, and his assistant Sashenka, assistant director of the Moscow Newsreel Studio, are filming the Red Army's combat operations during the Great Patriotic War. Not everything works out at once - they have no experience yet. From the huge stream of newsreel footage shot in the line of fire, they patiently and courageously create a portrait of their contemporaries.