If one is to talk of genres in Russian film, then the World War II film is a genre all to itself. A good half (if not more) of Russian films deal with what Russians term the Great Patriotic War, and yet precious few of them are so profound and universally understood as Grigory Chukhrai's classic.<br /><br />It's a simple story about a young soldier, Alyosha (Vladimir Ivashov), who has just 48 hours of furlough. Since Russia is so vast, he uses practically all that time to travel home to his mother. Along the way, he finds romance and lives a lifetime in limited time.<br /><br />The film is exquisitely crafted, well-paced and deeply moving in its evocation of the bonds of love and family. Highly recommended.