Plot

The story of friendship between an Armenian veteran of the Nagorno-Karabakh war and the daughter of one of his fallen comrades.

The official synopsis:

This story touches on perhaps the most sensitive string for the Armenian people today, Nagorno-Karabakh. Why did people die? What was the war about? What motivated the heroic deeds? Some have found the answers, others are still searching. But these questions eclipse the real lives of real people, who we unfortunately often think about the least. Meanwhile, they too maybe are asking the same questions.

The protagonist Gurgen is a common guy, an electronics wiz in a body shop, ostensibly enjoying everybody's respect and, perhaps, awe. His gloomy appearance may be the reason. Or is it his combat merit in the battle for Karabakh? A young girl, Sasha, calls on him. She is the daughter of his fallen half-Armenian, half-Russian brother-in-arms. She asks him to escort her to her father's grave to plant a birch tree there that she brought along. Gurgen is confounded. He has to confess he does not know where the grave is, since he was in a field hospital at the time. Fortunately, a friend of their's may know. He lives in Vayk where they set out to together.

Eventually it turns out that the grave is on the other side of the border. They have to take their chances to plant the birch. An Azerbaijani shepherd checks them while they are planting it. He used to live in Shushi (known to Azerbaijanis as "Shusha") and his ten-year-old son had died on a landmine. He would also like to plant a tree on his son's last stand. The war has scattered people around, sparing no feelings. Gurgen and the girl decide to plant another tree on the boy's gravesite, following their hearts' call.

This is not a spoiler suffice it to add that Gurgen will have to confront his past, his friends with whom he went out to defend their ideals twenty years ago. Their paths have diverged since, but this darling snub-nosed girl, the daughter of a Russian soldier and an Armenian woman who had fallen victim to Sumgait pogroms, and for whose memory her husband volunteered to fight for Karabakh, will awaken long-forgotten sentiments in them. They will join efforts to help their friend's daughter, live through trials and adventures together, understanding that their lives did have a purpose and that the tree they plant is a symbol of life, not just a token of memory for the departed.