Aleksei, a new draftee to present-day Russian army (Yevgeny Mironov), ends up in a division with a longstanding tradition of hazing. He refuses to give in to brute force and befriends another draftee who feels the same way. Unable to break the rebels' spirit, the older recruits cruelly beat up Aleksei's friend. In revenge, Aleksei steals the keys to the ammunition depot and, gun in hand, makes the offenders follow his orders. A striking performance by Mironov, still an acting student at the time.