The Beast of War

In 1981, a Soviet tank unit viciously attacks a Pashtun village sheltering mujahideen fighters. The assault devastates the village and kills residents, including Taj's father and brother, the latter crushed under Daskal's tank. The brutality fuels Taj's resolve to seek revenge.

Following the assault, Daskal's tank takes a wrong turn through a mountain pass and enters a blind valley. Taj returns to discover the village destroyed and learns that his father and brother were killed during the attack. The tank's misstep strands the crew deep in enemy terrain.

Taj is crowned the new khan following his brother's death and is spurred to seek revenge against Daskal. He leads a band of mujahideen into the valley to pursue the tank they nicknamed the Beast. The pursuit marks the beginning of Taj's vendetta against the tank crew.

With the radio damaged and isolation setting in, the Soviet crew decides to find Kandahar Road to return to Soviet lines. They press on through rugged terrain, hoping for a route back to safety. The journey becomes a perilous struggle for survival.

During a night camp, Afghan crewman Samad explains Pashtunwali and the concept of nanawatai, promising sanctuary to an enemy who asks for it. The lesson plants a moral framework that will influence decisions later in the pursuit. The idea of sanctuary becomes a recurring tension between treachery and honor.

The crew faces multiple ambushes from Taj's band as they press through the mountains. In a brutal moment, Daskal murders Samad in front of the others, shocking the crew and hardening Taj's resolve to exact revenge. The act intensifies the moral complexity of the pursuit.

After reports that the tank is breaking down, Daskal accuses Koverchenko of mutiny and orders Kaminski and Golikov to tie him to a rock with a grenade as a booby-trap for the mujahideen. The crew fragility and fear deepen as suspicion grows. The situation raises the stakes for the group's survival.

Wild dogs attack Koverchenko, but the grenade rolls off the rock and explodes, scaring them away and sparing his life. Taj's band then reunites with vengeful women who offer food and shelter, and Koverchenko begins to bond with Taj after fixing their broken RPG-7.

Having repaired the broken RPG-7, Koverchenko earns Taj's trust and commits to helping them destroy the tank. The unlikely alliance grows as he aligns with nanawatai principles to safeguard the group and plan the strike on The Beast.

A Soviet helicopter appears, offering rescue to the trapped crew, but Daskal refuses to abandon the tank and orders it refueled for a hard exit. The crew pushes toward the narrow pass, believed to be their only route out.

The helicopter crew drinks water from a waterhole they had previously poisoned with cyanide, leading to their deaths. Taj, Koverchenko, and the mujahideen close in on the tank as the pursuit resumes through the pass.

At the cliff-side approach, village women blow rocks onto the tank, disabling it. Koverchenko pleads nanawatai for the trapped crew, and Taj reluctantly agrees. Daskal is killed by the women, bringing a brutal end to his command.

Kaminski and Golikov flee on foot while Koverchenko is rescued by a Soviet helicopter. He salutes Taj as he is hoisted away, brandishing a jezail Taj had gifted him, and departs across the Afghan landscape.