The Soldier (1982) Plot Summary Explained

The President faces an impossible choice when the KGB threatens to detonate a nuclear device in the Ghawar Oil Field, which would contaminate 50% of the world's oil supply. He believes that ordering military action against Israel to force withdrawal from West Bank settlements would be the lesser evil compared to a global oil crisis that could devastate the world economy.

• president
• israel
• war
• oil crisis
• west bank
• kgb threat

After The Soldier contacts the CIA director from the US embassy in West Berlin, a KGB agent assassinates the director and frames The Soldier for the killing. This eliminates the official channel between The Soldier and US intelligence, ensuring no one in the government can verify his actions. The President then disavows any knowledge of The Soldier, leaving him without backup or legal protection.

Foreshadowing: The earlier ambush in the Austrian Alps by agent Dracha signals the KGB's determination to eliminate The Soldier.

• framed
• cia director
• assassination
• kgb
• berlin
• disavowed

With the President already authorizing military action against Israel and the KGB holding the world hostage with their nuclear device, The Soldier's team infiltrates a US nuclear missile silo in Smith Center, Kansas to gain independent launch capability. This gives them a credible threat to use against Moscow, if the KGB detonates their device in Saudi Arabia, The Soldier's team will launch missiles at Moscow, forcing the KGB to dismantle their own bomb.

• missile silo
• kansas
• nuclear
• leverage
• moscow
• smith center
• brinkmanship

The Soldier and Susan Goodman drive a Porsche at high speed and launch it over the Berlin Wall, crashing into East Berlin to confront the KGB directly. This audacious breach allows them to face the KGB agents face-to-face and deliver their ultimatum, that detonating the Saudi device would trigger a nuclear response against Moscow.

• porsche
• berlin wall
• east berlin
• break-in
• ultimatum

The KGB is forced into an impossible situation. The Soldier warns them that if their nuclear device in Saudi Arabia is detonated, his team in the Kansas missile silo will launch missiles at Moscow. Faced with the choice between their political objective (forcing Israel to withdraw from the West Bank) and the survival of Moscow, the KGB chooses survival and dismantles their device in the Ghawar Oil Field.

• kgb
• dismantle
• nuclear device
• moscow
• saudi arabia
• ghawar oil field

The renegade KGB agents, led by Ivan and including Dracha, plan to detonate a nuclear device in the Ghawar Oil Field in Saudi Arabia. Their goal is not to actually destroy the oil field but to use the threat of contaminating 50% of the world's oil supply as political leverage to force Israel to withdraw its settlements from the West Bank.

• kgb
• ivan
• political goal
• west bank
• settlements
• oil
• blackmail

After being framed for the CIA director's murder and disavowed by the US government, The Soldier goes on the run and seeks refuge in the Israeli embassy in West Berlin. There, he coordinates with Susan Goodman, Mossad's director of covert operations, and her team. Together, they work to counter the KGB threat since both sides have a shared interest in preventing the nuclear catastrophe.

• mossad
• susan goodman
• israeli embassy
• collaboration
• alliance
• berlin

Once the CIA director is killed and The Soldier is framed for the murder, the President chooses to deny any knowledge of The Soldier's existence and operations. This allows the US government to maintain plausible deniability while The Soldier operates outside official channels. It also forces The Soldier to work with foreign intelligence (Mossad) rather than his own government.

• president
• disavowed
• deniability
• cia
• secret operation
• plausible denial

The standoff works because it's a game of chicken. The KGB wants to force Israel to withdraw from the West Bank by threatening the world's oil supply. However, when The Soldier reveals his team has control of a US missile silo and will retaliate against Moscow if the Saudi device detonates, the KGB must choose between their political goal and their own capital city. They choose Moscow and dismantle their device.

• nuclear retaliation
• moscow
• standoff
• brinkmanship
• mutually assured destruction
• leverage

The President authorizes military action against Israel as a desperate measure to force Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank settlements before the KGB can follow through on their threat to detonate the nuclear device. He believes this preemptive attack on Israel, an ally, will satisfy the KGB's demands and prevent the global oil catastrophe, even though it means going to war with a friendly nation.

• air strike
• israel
• military action
• president
• west bank
• settlements
• preemptive

KGB agent Dracha, a professional assassin, ambushes The Soldier in the Austrian Alps in an attempt to kill him. This attempt fails, but it demonstrates the intensity of the KGB's pursuit and forces The Soldier to operate even more carefully. The encounter also pushes The Soldier to make contact with the CIA director in West Berlin sooner than planned.

Foreshadowing: The ambush establishes Dracha as a persistent antagonist and foreshadows the ongoing danger to The Soldier throughout the film.

• dracha
• alps
• ambush
• assassination attempt
• kgb agent
• klaus kinski