Georgi Kovrov

At the crux of the routine drama is a small town that is about to go under when a major dam is completed and the area is flooded, creating a sizeable lake. As people return to say good-bye to the lives and the homes they once knew in the town, differences of opinion on the sacrifice they made crop up. At stake is the "Russian" way of life and whether or not progress should include this type of sacrifice for the common good. (allmovie.com)

Based on the novel of the same name by Mikhail Sholokhov and we follow the Melekhov family of Tatarsk through difficult times just before World War 1.