The Bodyguard

Set in Central Asia during the Russian Civil War, in the post‑revolutionary twenties, when the power in European Russia was (officially) 'fully in the hands of the workers and peasants', yet the fight against the Basmachi rebels rages on. After a Red Army detachment captures Sultan Mazar, the brains behind the Bazmachi contingent, a decision is made to urgently escort the prisoner to the Bukhara province. The perilous mission is entrusted to Mirzo, a grizzled mountain trapper and conscientious revolutionary whose expertise is essential to traverse the precarious passes and steep ridges that prove insurmountable for the inexperienced. A group consisting of Mirzo, his brother Kova, the Sultan, his daughter Zaranghis and the slave Saifulla sets off on this journey. They are forced to fight on the mountain ridges as well as negotiate the natural dangers and the harsh elements.