In the spring of 1919, Pavel Andreevitch Koltsov, an agent of the Reds, is sent as the head of the Cheka by Martin Latsis into the Volunteer Army. On the road, he and several other White officers are captured by the "Greens" of Evgeniy Angel. Taking advantage of a right moment, Koltsov takes possession of arms, and the officers along with two Red Army commanders, also prisoners of Angel, with a fight break out of captivity. After hearing the story about the escape, Commander Vladimir Kovalevsky Zenonovich appoints Koltsov as his adjutant. Koltsov runs several covert operations while successfully passing all tests regarding his legendary status and does not give in to provocations of the counterintelligence. At the same time there is a romantic side plot in which Pavel Koltsov wins over the daughter of Colonel Shchukin Thani, chief of counterintelligence. Another important plot line is the fate of Yuri Lvov, the son of the White colonel who was killed in battle. The boy is going through a series of tragic adventures on both sides of the front until Koltsov starts taking care of him. The observant Yura guesses that Koltsov is a spy for the Reds. In a frank discussion, Koltsov manages to convince Yura that he is acting with good and noble intentions. At the end of the film Koltsov sacrifices himself to destroy the special train of the Whites with British tanks, which is driven to the front. Koltsov gets arrested and imminent death awaits him. The titles before each series state "Dedicated to the first Chekists".
Cast
Yury Solomin as Pavel Andreevich Koltsov, also known as "Old Man", captain, adjutant of General Kovalevsky
Vladislav Strzhelchik as Lieutenant-General Vladimir Zenonovich Kovalevsky, commander of the Volunteer Army
Vladimir Kozel as Colonel Nikolay G. Shchukin, head of counterintelligence of the Volunteer Army ).
Tatiana Ivanitskaya as Tanya Shchukina, daughter of Colonel Shchukin
Alexander Milokostiy as Yura, son of Colonel Lvov
Anatoli Papanov as Yevgeny Angel, gang leader of the "Greens"
Victor Pavlov as Miron Osadchy, a member of Angel's gang, later an intelligence agent of the Whites
Michael Kokshenov as Pavel, a member of Angel's gang
Yevgeny Tashkov as Martin Yanovich Latsis, the head of the All-Ukrainian Cheka
Nikolay Timofeev as Frolov, Red security officer
Yevgeny Shutov as Semyon Krasilnikov, Red security officer
Andrei Petrov as Sirotin, Red commander
Yuriy Nazarov as Emelyanov, Red commander
Daniel Netrebin as Red Commander
Gennady Karnovich-Valois as Colonel Lvov
Oleg Golubitskiy as gendarme captain Wolin
Vladimir Grossman as Lieutenant / Captain Duditsky
Igor Starygin as Mickey, lieutenant, junior adjutant of Kovalevsky
Valentin Smirnitsky as Captain Rostovtsev
Gediminas Girdvainis as Intelligence Lieutenant
German Yushko as Timka, Angel's orderly
Yuri Medvedev as Nikita, a member of Angel's gang
Nikolai Gritsenko as Vikentiy Pavlovich Speransky, director of the Kiev White underground movement
Sofya Pavlova as Ksenia Andreevna, wife of Speransky
Boris Novikov Isaac Liberson, the Kiev jeweler
Elizaveta Auerbach as Sofa, wife of Liberson
Lev Polyakov as Zagladin, a member of the White underground movement
Konstantin Zheldin as Captain Viktor Zakharovich Osipov, counterintelligence officer of the Volunteer Army, assistant of Shchukin
Alexey Presnetsov as Basov, or "Nikolai Nikolaevich", former colonel, operations chief of army staff of Reds and White spy
Sergey Zeitz as Binsky, Kiev White underground worker,
Sergey Polezhaev as Kiev White underground fighter, "brother" of Binsky
Lyudmila Chursina as Oksana
Peter Dolzhanov as Lev Fedotov, jeweler
Peter Kudlay as mayor of Kharkov, colonel Schetinin
Yevgeny Teterin as Startsev, numismatist, courier for the Reds
Larissa Danilina as Natasha, daughter of a coin collector, resident of the intelligence network of the Reds
Alexander Barushnoy as English Brigadier Brix, a representative of the Allied
Gleb Plaksin as french general
Vera Yenyutina as false Koltsov's mother
Aleksei Smirnov as crook
Arthur Nischenkin as Klёnkin, security officer
Boris Yurchenko as Chekist
Victor Uralsky as watchman at the Kharkov station, White
Valentine Berezutskaya as passenger
Nikolai Barmin as the station
Vladimir Marenkov as one-legged shoemaker, a liaison of the Whites
Valentin Grachev as Sazonov, security officer
Yuri Leonidov as Colonel Lebedev
Margarita Kosheleva as Yura's mother
Margarita Krinitsyna as lady on the stairs, whom Miron Osadchy questions about Gritsenko's lawyer
Sergei Kalinin as Passenger
Konstantin Tyrtov as prison sentry
Production
At first Mikhail Nozhkin was approved for the role of agent Koltsov and Yuri Solomin to play the supporting role of a staff officer. But the film director Yevgeni Tashkov decided that Yuri Solomin was better suited to play the lead role. For portraying the character of Captain Yuri Solomin Koltsov, Solomin was awarded the State Prize of the RSFSR and the title of "Honored Artist of the RSFSR".
