"Where the East Is" by Ivan Okhlobystin, summary Automatic translate

Ivan Okhlobystin’s screenplay, first published in 2008, depicts the spiritual trials of church ministers amid the looming Second World War. The work explores questions of Christian forgiveness and human duty against the backdrop of brutal historical events.

Escape from Persecution and Valaam

The story opens with a scene in a modern Estonian museum. An elderly man and his grandson are examining the exhibits. The old man’s gaze falls on an old compass with a cracked glass, after which the action shifts to the past.

On the eve of war, Orthodox priest Father Mikhail is forced to hide from the authorities along with his family. The priest’s young son, Alexei, a motorcycle enthusiast and friends with a boy named Petka, doesn’t yet realize the impending danger. The family secretly makes their way to the pier and sails by boat to the island of Valaam.

At the monastery, the fugitives are received by Archimandrite Auvian. The monks discuss the imminent outbreak of war. While wandering the island, Alexei discovers an ancient hermitage lost in the swamps. Inside, the boy encounters a mysterious elder, whom he childishly mistakes for God. Upon returning, the child learns that the hermitage in the swamps does not exist. Father Mikhail decides to return to the mainland to continue his church service.

German occupation

The family returns home, where the local official reluctantly hands Father Mikhail the keys to a small church. Peaceful life is shattered by the invasion of Nazi Germany. A German officer enters the church and declares freedom of religion, simultaneously ordering the Jews and Roma to come out for registration.

Father Vitaly comes to see Father Mikhail. He tells him about the camps for displaced persons and offers to organize spiritual support for the prisoners. Priests begin visiting the camp.

Alexei meets the camp commandant, Otto Rosenthal. The commandant turns out to be a chess enthusiast, and the boy begins playing with him. Otto is cynical, openly discussing cruelty and making no secret of his deep disillusionment with humanity.

The Conspiracy and Baptism of the Commandant

Unknown assailants blow up the archbishop’s car. Father Vitaly, whose wife was killed by a bullet from a German patrol, contacts the partisans. He asks Father Mikhail to smuggle weapons into the camp to save prisoners about to be sent to concentration camps. Mikhail hesitates, but takes the bag with him on his next visit.

Father Mikhail announces a mass baptism over the camp radio. Opening his bag, the priest discovers dynamite inside. A stranger threatens Father Mikhail into silence and takes the explosives. Meanwhile, Otto Rosenthal, observing the beautiful ceremony, decides to convert to Orthodoxy himself, taking the name John. The officer wants to cleanse himself of his sins, surrender to his superior general, and be martyred.

That night, Father Mikhail secretly baptizes Otto on the roof of the commandant’s office. Immediately after the ceremony, the general’s car arrives at the camp. The newly baptized commandant descends into the courtyard to meet his superiors. Suddenly, a powerful explosion thunders, and the car explodes.

Guerrilla takeover

The explosion serves as the signal for an attack. A partisan brigade under the command of Captain Zimin captures the camp. It turns out that Father Mikhail was the one who smuggled the dynamite, and Father Vitaly placed it in the bag. Vitaly himself takes a revolver and kills the captured German cook. Mikhail is horrified by his brother’s actions.

German tanks are converging on the camp. The partisans need time to retreat into the forest. Father Vitaly goes to the Germans as a negotiator to distract them.

Confrontation at the church

The partisans retreat to an ancient wooden church, where an elderly priest, Father Ilya, serves. Captain Zimin takes the surviving General Heinrich Lanz hostage. Zimin orders Father Mikhail to guard the general in the workshop and gives him a pistol. Father Ilya continues to serve the liturgy serenely in the church’s altar.

The captured general begs Father Mikhail for mercy. He claims to be a peaceful medical officer with a family waiting for him at home. Mikhail is experiencing severe mental anguish.

Meanwhile, in a field camp, an SS officer interrogates Father Vitaly. Upon learning that the priest would lose the ability to bless without his right hand, the German officer sadistically chops off Father Vitaly’s hand with an army cleaver.

Denouement and escape

Father Mikhail frees the general and allows him to escape. Lanz immediately grabs a pistol and points it at his savior. The priest is saved by the seriously wounded Captain Zimin, who shoots the traitor. The captain explains to Mikhail that this doctor sent people en masse to the gas chambers.

Zimin orders everyone to go into the forest. Father Mikhail tries to take the elderly Father Ilya, but he refuses to leave the church, wanting to hear the dying captain’s confession. Petka finds a motorcycle. Alexey gets behind the wheel, takes his friend and father with him, and they disappear into the forest thicket.

German soldiers surround the church. They throw the battered Father Vitaly inside and lock the doors. The church is lined with brushwood and set ablaze. Inside the blazing building, Father Ilya performs the funeral service for Captain Zimin, while Father Vitaly uses his remaining hand to swing the bell clapper. Along the way, Petka promises to give Alexey his compass.

The scene returns to the present day. An elderly Alexei stands at a museum display case. He taps the glass of a compass on display, and its needle deflects. The old man says, "East is over there," smiles sadly, and walks away.