Pirates of the 20th Century

The captain stopped the engines because a watchman reported a man overboard. Salekh presented himself as the sole survivor of a capsized merchant ship, which triggered the crew's instinct to help. This was a deliberate trap, Salekh was working with the pirates and used the rescue to infiltrate the Nezhin, later using his access to disable communications and enable the attack.

Salekh's claim of being the only survivor from a storm is suspicious from the start, hinting at his true role.

The film implies the pharmaceutical agent from the Middle East port leaked the information. After meeting with the Nezhin's captain to discuss the opium cargo, the agent is shown in a car speaking on a walkie-talkie, likely coordinating with the pirate operation. This inside information allowed the pirates to plan their ambush with precise knowledge of the valuable cargo.

The agent's suspicious radio call as the ship departs hints at the impending betrayal.

Salekh is revealed to be a collaborator working with the pirate crew operating the Mercury. His rescue was staged, he posed as a stranded sailor to gain access to the Nezhin. Once aboard, he waited for the right moment to seize the radio room, kill the operator, and destroy communications, preventing the crew from calling for help during the attack.

The narrative tension around Salekh's rescue builds suspicion before his true role is exposed.

After Salekh disabled communications, the Mercury activated its engines and rammed the Nezhin, breaching its hull. With the ship crippled and unable to call for help, armed pirates poured onto the deck. They used rifles and machine guns to overpower the crew, slaughtering those who resisted and quickly gaining control of the vessel.

The decision to send four men to investigate the empty Mercury leaves the Nezhin undermanned.

After the pirates locked the remaining Russian crew into compartments and began offloading the opium, the survivors managed to reach a lifeboat. They abandoned the burning, sinking Nezhin and drifted to a nearby island where the pirates had established control over a fishing village. The exact method of their escape from the locked compartments is not detailed, but they seized the opportunity during the chaos of the looting.

The fisherman's daughter is a local resident from the island fishing village that the pirates have taken over. She agrees to join forces with the stranded crew because she has her own reason to oppose the pirates, they have established control over her home. Together, they devise a plan to retake the pirates' boat during a nighttime assault.

The pirates' occupation of the fishing village creates local enemies.

The pirates held two crew members hostage and kept a crucial piece of the radio equipment, preventing the survivors from calling for help. They negotiated a trade: the crew would surrender the captured pirate boat in exchange for the hostages, the radio piece, and a speedboat for escape. This was a ruse, the pirates intended to sabotage the escape.

The pirates deliberately sabotaged the speedboat's engine to prevent the crew from escaping. This was part of their plan to keep the survivors stranded on the island. When the engine died during the attempted escape, the crew realized they had been betrayed again and had to devise an alternative plan.

The pirates' willingness to negotiate hides their true intent to eliminate the survivors.

Sergei infiltrates the pirates' ship alone and forces the radio operator at gunpoint to transmit a distress signal with the crew's coordinates. He then proceeds to the engine room and deliberately sets the engines to full reverse, steering the pirate vessel directly into rocks. The ship crashes and sinks, killing all the pirates aboard.

Sergei's experience as chief-mate gives him the skills to operate the ship.

After Sergei destroys the pirate ship, the surviving crew returns to the repaired speedboat. They manage to fix its engine and set out into the open sea. The fisherman's daughter watches from the island cliffs as they sail away to safety, providing a bittersweet farewell that concludes their ordeal.