"Two brothers, fighting each other for another's war", this is the story of World War II in Estonia. The film observes the war from two different perspectives, the complicated situation in Estonia at that time, and the different psychological states of people who were between the two forces at that time. The film tells the tragic Battle of the Tannenberg Line from the perspective of an Estonian soldier who joined the German SS and an Estonian soldier who joined the Soviet Red Army. The first half is from the perspective of the German SS, so I saw the stubborn resistance in the face of the Soviet attack, and when the German officers came to brainwash them, they refused to salute the leader and spat at the Hitler photo. The turning point came when the Estonian soldiers who had joined the German camp decided to guard a road, they dug their trenches and prepared for an ambush. Later in the ambush with the Soviet army, the Soviet commander heard the other party's shouting and shouted for a ceasefire. After a silence, the scene of the two sides walking out of the trench became the best interpretation of this movie and even this war: everything people have. Good things no longer exist. Facing compatriots in different uniforms and beliefs, they are all wondering why they are fighting?
This huge neighboring country to the east has always been a nightmare for Estonians, especially after the tsar became a Soviet. Taking advantage of the chaos of the First World War, the Estonians staged an uprising in early 1918 and turned to Germany for help, forcing the Soviet Union to sign an agreement with Germany and finally to become independent from the Soviet Union. After the start of World War II, Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression agreement, and Estonia became a victim of great powers, lost its independence, and was re-incorporated into the Soviet Union, where the Soviet Union established a Soviet Republic and carried out a large-scale socialist transformation. That was a tragic page in Estonian history. Although it is only a short period of one year, many people have encountered the fate of separation from their wives and children. Many soldiers in the film are victims of this red terror. Many people are alone and have no worries. Therefore, when the German army entered Estonia in a mighty manner the following year, the scene at that time seemed to be welcoming the Wang division. In fact, this kind of thing was not an isolated case in Eastern Europe during World War II. Even when the Germans invaded Ukraine, they were welcomed by the locals. History is sometimes difficult to look at, and there are many embarrassing details, but a careful analysis is actually logical. This is where history gets complicated. The resistance of the Estonian people is just fighting for themselves and their homeland. All we want is a home of our own, a free life, that's all.
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