Balkan Spy

Ilija Čvorović is contacted by the police to answer routine questions about his sub-tenant Petar Markov Jakovljević. The exchange leaves him shaken and convinced that Petar might be a spy. This police appearance marks the first crack in his sense of security.

As time passes, Ilija grows convinced that Petar represents a threat to national security. He begins secretly spying on Petar and his intellectual circle from his own home, watching for any signs of espionage. His suspicions deepen even though there is no proof.

Ilija phones inspector Dražić to report that Petar is meeting with suspicious people. The inspector dismisses the concerns, treating them as harmless visitors. The lack of official support reinforces Ilija's belief that he alone must safeguard his world.

He intensifies his own surveillance operation against Petar and his friends, convinced of a foreign-based threat. He starts arming himself and buys a guard dog, then asks his brother Đura to help monitor the situation. The home becomes a frontline in his growing paranoia.

Amid the vigil, Danica worries about their daughter Sonja’s future as she struggles to find a job after dental school. The family’s worries widen the conflict between political fear and personal need. Ilija's fixation on Petar clashes with home life.

One evening Ilija is struck by a car, an event he interprets as an assassination attempt. The incident hardens his belief that someone is trying to remove him. The near-miss intensifies his paranoia and sense of danger.

After the crash, Danica starts to believe Ilija's fears, while Sonja thinks her father is paranoid. The family grows more divided as trust fractures. The daughter's skepticism highlights the personal cost of political paranoia.

Đura captures several of Petar's friends and holds them in his basement, beating them to force confessions about supposed terrorist plans. The brothers' vigilante actions cross from suspicion into coercion. Petar's circle becomes embroiled in the brothers' brutal inquiry.

Petar arrives at Ilija's house to say goodbye before traveling to New York and meets Danica there. He reveals that he was aware of Ilija and Đura’s surveillance operations. His calm acknowledgement exposes the futility of the brothers' pursuit.

Ilija and Đura burst into the house, tie Petar to a chair, and begin interrogating him about supposed terrorist plans. Petar maintains that he is not a spy, but the brothers refuse to believe him. Đura brings in one of Petar's friends to corroborate the supposed confessions, escalating the confrontation.

In the heat of the interrogation, Ilija suffers a heart attack. The moment underscores the physical toll of paranoia and vigilante action. Petar manages to call an ambulance, highlighting the fragility of the situation.

Petar calls the ambulance and, still handcuffed to a chair, leaves the house to catch his plane to New York. Ilija, in pain, orders Đura to block the airport by phone, then crawls out of the house to chase Petar as his dog follows. The desperate pursuit carries them from the house toward the airport.