AND QUIET FLOWS THE DON (1957-1958). Russian with English Subtitles.

AND QUIET FLOWS THE DON (Russian: Тихий Дон, translit. Tikhiy Don) is a three-part Soviet epic film directed by Sergei Gerasimov based on the novel of the same title by Mikhail Sholokhov. The first two parts of the film were released in October 1957 and the final third part in 1958. The film tells the story of Russia's involvement in the World War I, the October Revolution, the Russian Civil War, the fate of ordinary people, the crumbling ideals of the Don Cossacks and the personal tragedy of the protagonist, Grigori Melekhov (anglicised Gregory Melehoff). The protagonist is described by Gerasimov as in fact "a man without a road, doomed by history."

Plot
Part One
The young Cossack Grigori Melekhov is in love with a married Cossack woman called Aksinya Astakhova and she reciprocates, but those around him are against it, viewing it as a shameful union.[3] The situation is aggravated after the return of Aksinya's husband from military training, and the husband beats his wife. Grigori is wed to another woman, Natalia Korshunova. Grigori and Aksinya decide to run away from their families, but their new life is cut short by the start of the First World War.[3] Aksinya tells Grigori she is pregnant, though Grigori doubts his paternity.

Grigori is conscripted into the Imperial Army and his unit battles with the Austro-Hungarians. For his actions, he is wounded but receives the St. George's Cross for bravery. Aksinya loses her child and is comforted by an estate owner's son. Returning on hospital leave, Grigori finds out that Aksinya was unfaithful to him. In a fit of jealousy, he beats the man and Aksinya with a whip, after which he returns to his father and wife Natalia.

Part Two
A few years later in 1916, Russian officers in a dugout are playing cards and discussing the war under the distant roar of cannonade. Their soldiers are reading an anti-war leaflet. During the next attack, the Germans use poison gas. In the midst of the chaotic retreat, Grigori stumbles upon and saves Aksinya's husband. Back home, at a meeting of the villagers, they announce the deposition of Emperor Nicholas II and the transfer of power to the Provisional Committee of the State Duma.

Discord arises among the Cossacks. Yesaul Kalmykov advocates joining General Kornilov's forces and restore order in Russia, while the cornet Bunchuk wants to defend the Revolution. Kalmykov is disarmed, and Bunchuk kills the yesaul, his superior officer. Grigori finds himself in a full room with portraits of Karl Marx and red banners, where the fight with General Kaledin, a leader in the White Army, is discussed. However, the Cossacks argue about whether they should support the Bolsheviks or whether they can cope on their own. Melekhov witness two groups of Cossacks fight, Podtyolkov's 'Red' Cossacks and Chernetsov's 'White' Cossacks; the Whites lose, and Podtyolkov cuts down the captive Chernetsov with his sword.

Grigori returns to his father and distributes gifts, but even here the Cossacks have no unity. Grigori is leaning toward the idea of 'Soviet power,' but his father wants nothing to do with it. The power is changing, and Grigori Melekhov, with shoulder straps and royal medals, observes the execution of Red Cossacks, recalling in his mind Podtyolkov's massacre of Chernetsov's Cossacks. The Bolshevik Shtokman demands the arrest of Grigori, but Grigori manages to escape. The Reds capture and shoot Peter, Gregory's brother.

Grigori, at the head of a hundred Cossacks, cuts down revolutionary sailors in an attack. However, his mind remains cloudy from the war at the front and the ensuing war at home.
Plot
In the Spring of 1917, following the February Revolution, Russian troops fighting in the First World War are heavily demoralised. Military commanders decide to create a battalion of enthusiastic women volunteers, led by Maria Bochkareva. After basic military training, the women are sent to the front.

Cast
Mariya Aronova as Maria Bochkareva
Maria Kozhevnikova as Natalia Tatishcheva
Marat Basharov as Alexander Kerensky
Irina Rakhmanova as Froska
Yanina Malinchik as Dusya
Yevgeny Dyatlov as Tseplyaev
Valeria Shkirando as Vera Neklyudova
Dmitry Shevchenko as Peter Polovtsov
Vladimir Zaytsev as General Alekseev
Mila Makarova as Tonya