Persecution

Persecution (1989) is a Soviet historical drama from Kyrgyzstan you can watch online on iFILM. The setting is the southern steppe of the 1920s, still smoldering after the civil war.

Platoon commander Abysh Isaev reports to a remote garrison. His orders, alongside Red commander Valentin Ugryumov, are to break up the Basmachi band led by Shaanazar — raiders burning villages and driving farmers off their land — and to bring the people home. The chase drags across mountains and sand, and the line between duty, blood feud and plain survival keeps wearing thinner.

Directed by Usenzhan Ibragimov, with Sakybek Karabaev and Andrei Gradov in the leads, it's a lean, dusty Central Asian "ostern" about a region caught between two eras. Worth a look if you like Soviet frontier cinema with no gloss on it. Stream Persecution (1989) online on iFILM.