The Bodyguard

In a northeastern Chinese city, Ding, an older, overweight ex-officer, sees a man being stabbed by a gang. When the police ask him to point out the suspect, he falters and fails to identify anyone. The officers later suspect that Ding's memory problems may be dementia, complicating the case.

Back at the station, investigators research Ding's background and learn he is a retired Central Security Bureau officer from Beijing. They conclude he is suffering from dementia, which casts doubt on his ability to provide reliable testimony.

Back at his home, Park, an elderly landlady, invites Ding to supper. Ding also looks after Cherry, a little girl who lives next door, while her father Li struggles with gambling. The two relationships establish a fragile support system around Ding.

Li, driven into debt by gambling, is forced by Choi to steal the shoulder-bag of a Russian gang leader from a hotel. The alarm sounds, and Li barely escapes with the bag. He hides with the bag, still trapped by debt and danger.

Choi, the gang leader, responds to Li's failure by sending men to abduct Cherry, Ding's neighbor, used as leverage to control Li. The plan links Li's debt to danger for Cherry.

The Russian gang leader, angered by the theft, schemes to attack Choi's gang to reclaim their money and territory. The tension escalates as both sides prepare for a violent confrontation.

Choi's gang follows Cherry to Ding's home and assaults it, but Ding proves to be a formidable fighter and repels the attackers. Several gang members are forced to retreat, isolating the home from immediate capture.

To avoid arrest, two of Choi's men retreat to the countryside. The police realize Li has vanished, and Cherry is sent to live with her aunt and uncle for safety. The familial arrangements mark a temporary separation between Ding and Cherry.

Li shows up at Ding's home with money to compensate Ding for his service, but as he leaves, Choi's gang ambushes him and kills him. The shoulder-bag is recovered by Choi's gang, fueling further violence.

Overcome by guilt over his missing granddaughter, Ding resolves to retrieve Cherry by force. He goes to the gambling house to demand Cherry's release and faces off against Choi's gang.

Ding overpowers around twenty gang members, including a knife specialist. The Russian mobsters arrive and begin eliminating Choi's men to reclaim the money; Choi escapes, but Ding injures his leg in the process.

Police chase the two Russian leaders; they die in a truck collision. Choi is killed by two of his own subordinates who accepted a Russian bribe. Ding's dementia worsens, but his memory of Cherry remains intact, and Cherry eventually returns home. A post-credits sequence shows the remaining criminals being chased by PLA military police.