If Only Everyone 2012

This film bravely explores the human side of a long-standing conflict, focusing on Nagorno-Karabakh and the quiet questions that haunt those who lived through its tension. At the center stands Gurgen, an ordinary man who also happens to be a skilled electronics tinkerer working in a body shop. His unassuming demeanor and the weight of past battles shape the way he moves through a world where memory and present fears collide. The story uses Gurgen’s everyday life as a lens to examine courage, loyalty, and the everyday choices that give life meaning even after years of fighting.

The narrative ignites when Sasha, a young woman connected to Gurgen by blood and history, reaches out with a specific mission: she asks him to escort her to her father’s grave so she can plant a birch tree there. The request is simple in its tenderness, but the path to fulfillment is anything but. Gurgen must admit a painful truth—that he does not know where the grave lies because his duties during the war kept him away, stationed in a field hospital rather than a battlefield’s exact coordinates. A friend who still lives in the town of Vayk becomes the likely beacon of knowledge, and together they set out on a journey that tests trust, memory, and the boundaries people are willing to cross for family and honor.

As the pair travels, the story widens its circle. The grave they seek turns out to reside beyond the border, a reminder of how war fractures geography as surely as it fractures lives. Their quest becomes a crossing not just of terrain but of history, as they encounter an Azerbaijani shepherd who has his own grief to bear. He once lived in Shushi and lost a ten-year-old son to a landmine, a wound that remains painfully open. He, too, longs to plant a tree—this time on his son’s grave—so that memory can stand alongside the living. The two travelers find themselves drawn into a shared act of remembrance that transcends lines drawn on maps.

The journey deepens as Gurgen and Sasha realize they are not merely carrying out a mission for someone else; they are answering questions about their own pasts. The conversation shifts from practical logistics to the more intimate inquiries that war often forces to the surface: What did we fight for? Who did our choices affect? A part of the story centers on a familiar figure from Gurgen’s earlier days—a circle of friends who once stood together to defend a set of beliefs twenty years ago. Those paths have diverged in the years since, but the presence of Sasha—a determined, compassionate, and resilient young woman who embodies a bridge between generations and memories—sparks long-dormant sentiments. The film gently suggests that healing can begin when old bonds are reexamined in the context of new loyalties and responsibilities.

What follows is a tapestry of trials and small adventures that binds the two travelers more closely to each other and to the people they meet along the way. The birch tree they plant becomes more than a memorial; it evolves into a living symbol of life, continuity, and the stubborn persistence of memory in the face of loss. The act of planting—carefully choosing a place, tending the soil, and watching a tree take root—serves as a quiet counterweight to the violence that has scarred so many lives. In parallel, Gurgen’s return to conversations with old friends—some of whom challenged his ideals in the past—adds a layer of introspection about identity, responsibility, and the possibility of reconciliation after deep-seated disagreements.

Throughout the film, the characters carry an understated hope: that memory need not be a burden but a source of purpose. They discover that the path to belonging can wind through pain and distance, yet still lead to commitments that give life texture and direction. The birch becomes a living landmark of these discoveries—a testament to the idea that acts of care can endure beyond the immediate moment of loss and become a beacon for the future.

In the end, the story invites viewers to reflect on the fragility and resilience of human connection in a landscape shaped by conflict. It presents a nuanced portrait of ordinary people choosing to cross invisible borders, to reforge relationships, and to plant something lasting as a counterpoint to the sorrow that war often leaves behind. The result is a thoughtful, character-driven narrative that honors memory while affirming the enduring value of life, companionship, and the small, persistent acts that keep hope alive.