The best Soviet films about the Second World War
Updated 2026-11-03
The Soviet Union lost more people in the Second World War than any other country, and the war shaped Soviet cinema for decades. Many of the directors and actors of these films had fought themselves.
The best of them are not about heroic victories but about ordinary people: a soldier walking home, a woman waiting for her fiancé, villagers trying to survive. Here are the films we consider essential.
The masterpieces
If you watch only a few, watch these.
Come and See (1985)
Elem Klimov's shattering film about a Belarusian boy in a burning country. One of the most powerful war films ever made.
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The Cranes Are Flying (1957)
A love story broken by war, and the only Soviet film to win the Palme d'Or.
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Ballad of a Soldier (1959)
A young soldier gets a few days' leave and tries to reach his mother. Simple, tender and unforgettable.
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The Ascent (1976)
Two partisans in the winter of 1942 face capture and an impossible choice. Winner of the Golden Bear in Berlin.
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Fate of a Man (1959)
Sergei Bondarchuk's story of a driver who loses everything in the war, and finds a reason to go on.
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For scale and spectacle, these huge productions recreate the great battles of the Eastern Front.
They Fought for Their Country (1975)
Soldiers in the hopeless retreat of 1942, directed by Bondarchuk.
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Spies, partisans and adventure
The war also gave Soviet cinema some of its most popular adventure films.
The Shield and the Sword (1968)
A Soviet agent lives for years inside the German intelligence service.
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