| Commander | |
| Music: | Pavel Esenin |
| Cinematography: | Andrey Katorzhenko |
| Studio: | EGO Production |
| Distributor: | Karro Film Distribution |
| Runtime: | 144 minutes |
| Country: | Russia |
| Language: | Russian |
| Budget: | ₽230 million |
| Gross: | ₽165 million |
Commander (Russian: Командир|Komandir|Commander) is a 2024 Russian biographical action film written, co-produced and directed by Aleksandr Guryanov and Timur Khvan based on real events - 1988 Ordzhonikidze bus hijacking.The plot, Gennady Zaytsev grew up in a large family and he was able to overcome the difficulties of war and devastation and he became the creator of an anti-terrorist unit. And suddenly, in Ordzhonikidze, terrorists took dozens of children, a teacher and a driver hostage. Gennady will have to undergo a very complicated operation.
The story of the negotiator, commander of the Alpha Group, Major General Gennady Nikolaevich Zaytsev (played by Kirill Andreyevich Zaytsev), under whose leadership the unit gained fame as one of the most outstanding organizations in the fight against terrorism.[1] [2]
This film was theatrically released on February 22, 2024.[3]
The morning of December 1, 1988, which had not yet recovered from the night frosts, in the capital of Soviet North Ossetia, the city of Ordzhonikidze, USSR (now the city of Vladikavkaz, Russia), was cold, but did not foretell trouble. Going with her 4th "G" on an excursion to the Republican Book Printing House, the young teacher Natalya Efimova still does not know that four employees of the local bus company have already hatched an insidious plan: to take a group of children hostage and receive a large ransom from the authorities for them. and fly abroad. And when the class teacher was informed that a bus sent by the head of the school was waiting for her and the children at the exit after the excursion, she was even glad: they got to the printing house on their own, in the wet snow and on crosswalks, and were very tired.
So the teacher and more than 30 schoolchildren were captured by terrorists, who threatened to kill one of them every half hour if their demands were not met.
The commander of the Alpha group, Gennady Zaytsev, and his fighters are tasked with freeing the hostages without allowing the criminals to harm them.[4]
The creators of the film, Timur Khvan, Tatyana Guryanova and Aleksandr Guryanov, discovered the biography of Gennady Nikolaevich Zaytsev by reading his book of memoirs "Special Forces. Alpha: deeds and people".
The completion of the first half of filming became known in the winter of 2023, the leading actor Kirill Zaytsev spoke about this. In preparation for the filming process, the actor talked with Gennady Zaytsev himself. The actor and Hero of the Soviet Union are namesakes. The end of filming became known in late spring 2023.
The filming involved the children and nephews of the real hostages, who, in turn, played their parents.
The film was created by the EGO Production film company with the support of the Rostec State Corporation and the Rosoboronexport Joint Stock Company, as well as the Charter and Aquarius companies.