Only Old Men Are Going to Battle

Captain Alexey "Maestro" Titarenko is a gifted pilot and natural leader who commands a spirited air squadron called the Singing Group. He takes under his wing a group of new cadets, mixing mentorship with the brutal realities of frontline combat. Together they scramble to repel German Luftwaffe raids, testing nerve, skill, and loyalty under pressure. The men and women in Alexey's orbit come from distant corners of the Soviet Union, each bringing a different accent, backstory, and joke to the cockpit. Yet in the air and on the ground they form a tight brothers-and-sisters-in-arms bond. The film leans into warmth and humor to humanize war while never softening the danger around them. Music and camaraderie run through every mission too.

Directed by Leonid Bykov, the film is built from a screenplay by Yevgeni Onopriyenko, Aleksandr Satsky and E Kosnichuk. Released in 1973, this Soviet war drama fuses humor and romance with frontline duty, anchored by Bykov’s warm, observational style throughout.

As a beloved example of Soviet wartime cinema, the film helped cement a humane approach to soldier stories. The singing group motif, the cross country camaraderie, and Bykov's easy humor gave audiences a new template for mixing sacrifice with warmth, influencing later war stories and pop culture moments for generations.

Critics praised the balance of humor and gravity, noting the film's ensemble energy and human focus amid conflict. Thematically it foregrounds fellowship, resilience, and moral responsibility, showing how ordinary people cope with danger while maintaining dignity, jokes, and tenderness in the heat of war. Its tone stays hopeful without peril.

Box office data for this 1973 Soviet release is not widely cited internationally. Its enduring reputation rests on collective cultural memory and the affection of generations of viewers rather than on grosses, with a budget of 269,750 dollars as reported.