The film was shot on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War.
The film in full, with only minor deviations, displays the contents of the story.
In 2020, the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Fund, together with the Mosfilm film studio, conducted a digital restoration of the film on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Victory in World War II.
In the original version of the story, Ermakov was put on trial by a military tribunal with all the ensuing consequences, but later Bondarev changed the ending of the story to a happier version. It was the final version of the story and formed the basis of the film.