Soviet Central Asia in the 1920s. Ten demobilized Red Army men are traveling through the desert to take a train back home. Traveling with them is a commander of the NKVD border troops, Zhuraviev; his wife Maria Nikolaevna; and an elderly geologist. While seeking out a well, they find a hidden cache of machine guns. They belong to the Basmach Shirmat Khan, whom the Red Army has been trying to neutralize --- unsuccessfully --- for over a year. After capturing an approaching scout, they realize they will soon face the Khan and his soldiers, as they haven't had water for three days and this well is vital to them. One of the Red Army men is sent off by horse to bring reinforcements, as the Khan will surely massacre them all, whether they meekly surrender the water or not. But the joke is on the Khan: the well is running dry. The Red Army men, nevertheless, conceal that from their enemy in the hopes of finally capturing the Khan and bringing the conflict in this part of the new Soviet Union to an end.

If this all sounds familiar, then you've probably seen the movie Sahara (1943), whose plot sounds eerily similar. Could it be that Hollywood ripped off Mosfilm?

DVD-R is in Russian with switchable English subtitles. Approx. 81 mins. See film sample for audio and video quality!