What Is The Murderers Are Coming About?
The premise of The Murderers Are Coming in 334 words, with nothing given away. The full story follows below.
In a grim yet oddly lyrical portrait of 1930s Germany, the film unfolds as a tapestry of everyday moments that reveal how ordinary lives are strained beneath the weight of war, ideology, and an ever‑present gaze. The world feels simultaneously cramped and expansive: streets are slick with snow, kitchens are filled with the stale smell of rationed food, and whispered conversations drift through cramped apartments. A pervasive sense of unease settles over the city, where loyalty is constantly tested and even the smallest gesture can carry political weight. The tone is stark and contemplative, blending quiet dread with fleeting bursts of absurdity, inviting the viewer to listen closely to the muted sounds of fear and hope that ripple through the populace.
Among the intertwined lives, Anna and Theo navigate a precarious marriage, their conversations tinged with the anxiety of surveillance and scarcity. Theo tries to soften the harshness of their reality while Anna senses an invisible pressure marking her skin, prompting her to reach out to her brother Franz for warning. Across the street, a nameless mother receives a modest “gift from the Führer” as part of a state‑run relief program, a token that underscores the performative generosity of a regime feeding on desperation. Her pregnant daughter, caught between gratitude and resentment, embodies the generational conflict sparked by forced loyalty. Nearby, a working‑class couple wrestles with the unsettling rumors whispered by a grieving factory worker’s wife, whose loss in the Eastern Front fuels a quiet rebellion against the prevailing narrative.
The film’s structure—an intricate mosaic of vignettes rather than a single linear plot—allows the audience to sense the pervasive moral tension without ever resolving it. Each fragment hints at larger questions of complicity, resistance, and the fragile thread of humanity that persists amid oppression. Through its measured pacing, muted colour palette, and restrained performances, the movie invites viewers to linger in the uncomfortable spaces between ordinary actions and their far‑reaching consequences, leaving the mysteries of survival and conscience lingering long after the screen fades.
What Happens in The Murderers Are Coming?
The complete story of The Murderers Are Coming, from the first scene to the last, in 623 words (about 3 minutes). Spoilers throughout. Names in the text link to 6 cast member pages.
Spoilers ahead
The film paints a nuanced portrait of two Germanys, weaving together multiple vignettes to illuminate the moral tensions and human costs that arose under Nazi rule. Rather than presenting a single narrative arc, it composes a mosaic of everyday moments, small decisions, and quiet fears that collectively reveal how ordinary people navigated loyalty, pressure, and danger within a society consumed by war and ideology.
In one thread, a group of drunken soldiers from the Third Reich wanders through unfamiliar streets, droning about national unity. Their mood shifts from swagger to panic when an old man peeks from a window, and in a swift, shocking moment they shoot him before fleeing into the night. The sequence lingers on the sudden, senseless violence that can erupt from bravado and fear alike, setting a tone of unsettled moral weather throughout the film.
Another strand centers on a woman who receives a “gift from the Führer” as part of the Winter Relief Program—potatoes, apples, and five marks—despite having already given much more through charitable donations. The gesture sits awkwardly against the backdrop of rising prices and a pregnant daughter who resents the donation, underscoring the political theater of scarcity and loyalty. When soldiers invade the woman’s home, tension rises, and the mother, in a moment of defiant helplessness, hurls a piece of the gifted fruit as a quiet act of resistance.
A separate thread follows a young couple, Anna and Theo, who spar over their strained finances and the grim reality of life under Hitler. Theo minimizes Anna’s worries even as the weight of the regime presses in. Suspicion begins to shadow their days, and Anna notices chalk marks on her back—an eerie sign of surveillance—prompting her to warn her brother Franz about possible danger. This thread captures the claustrophobic fear of being watched and the way intimate relationships strain under political pressure.
The film then broadens its scope to explore a conflicted family and a working-class world trying to endure war’s brutality. A husband and wife fear repercussions after their son, a member of the Hitler Youth, reads aloud from accounts of executions, only to return home with candy, dissolving the immediate danger with a small domestic moment. Nearby, a factory worker’s wife, grieving her brother’s death on the Eastern Front, repeats unsettling rumors about German pilots allegedly shooting parachuting comrades to protect sensitive information. Her anguished, anti-regime remarks shock her neighbors and husband, highlighting how fear, rumor, and grief ripple through neighborly life.
Across the snow-swept fronts of the Soviet Union, another set of scenes follows three looters who abandon a wounded comrade. When they realize they’ve left stolen goods with him, two return to find only sled tracks and the absence of their partner. Haunted by these traces, they attempt to flee but encounter Soviet partisans, who challenge their fear and complicity. In a final act of defiance, a captain attempts to overpower a female partisan but is fatally shot, leaving the partisans to recover their wounded prisoner. The sequence sharpens the film’s sense of moral ambiguity in a landscape where control, survival, and resistance intersect in painful ways.
Throughout these interwoven stories, the film interrogates themes of loyalty, fear, complicity, and resilience. It presents characters who face moments where ordinary choices carry heavy consequences, and where the line between complicity and courage can blur under the pressure of war, propaganda, and the ever-present gaze of surveillance. There are no easy answers here—only a careful, patient portrait of people trying to do what they can to endure, protect those they love, and preserve a sense of humanity when the world around them seems to have shifted beyond recognition.
Featuring performances by Ada Vojtsik, Oleg Zhakov, Boris Blinov, Sofiya Magarill, Olga Zhizneva, and Mikhail Astangov.
The Murderers Are Coming Timeline: Every Key Event in Order
12 key events in the order they happen, from “Drunken soldiers shoot an old man in the streets” to “Partisans recover the wounded prisoner; war continues”. 12 events name a place, across 11 locations.
- 1
Drunken soldiers shoot an old man in the streets
A band of Third Reich soldiers, in a haze of alcohol, wander the unfamiliar town streets and voice their talk of national unity. They suddenly notice an old man peeking from a window, panic, and unleash a fatal volley before fleeing into the night. The event sets a grim tone for how fear and brutality permeate ordinary life.
Where:German town streets
- 2
Gift from the Führer during the Winter Relief Program
A woman receives a government gift—potatoes, apples, and five marks—despite having donated double herself. The scene exposes the propaganda overlay of aid and sacrifice, and hints at the regime’s control over daily life. The gesture becomes a point of tension within the family.
When:Winter Relief Program Where:Her home
- 3
Search of the young woman's home leads to tension
The soldiers search the young woman’s home, turning over rooms and questioning family members. The mother, in a moment of desperate defiance, hurls a piece of the gifted apple at them as they threaten the household. The scene underscores the precariousness of ordinary lives under surveillance.
Where:Young woman's home
- 4
Anna and Theo argue about finances under Hitler
Anna and Theo debate whether survival under the regime is worth the cost, exposing the strain of poverty and political reality. Theo dismisses Anna's concerns, revealing a rift between idealism and fear. The couple's tension foreshadows broader dangers pressing on civilians.
Where:Anna and Theo’s home
- 5
Chalk marks signal surveillance; warning to Franz
Anna discovers chalk marks on her back, a chilling sign that she is being watched. She warns her brother Franz that danger may be near as the regime tightens its grip. The moment highlights how suspicion seeps into personal relationships.
Where:Anna’s home
- 6
Family grows wary after their Hitler Youth son reads about executions
A husband and wife fear retribution after their son, a Hitler Youth member, reads aloud about executions and appears to go to report them. He returns home unexpectedly with candy, easing the moment but not the fear that lingers. The vignette shows the paradox of indoctrination and the fragile safety of family life.
Where:Their home
- 7
Factory worker's wife mourns brother; rumors of pilots' brutality
In a neighborly setting, a factory worker's wife mourns her brother on the Eastern Front and repeats unsettling rumors of German pilots executing parachuting comrades to shield secrets. Her anguished anti-regime remarks horrify her husband and neighbor, revealing how fear can drive dissent and tension within communities.
Where:Factory worker's neighborhood
- 8
Three looters abandon a wounded comrade on the snow
On the snowbound Soviet front, three looters abandon a wounded comrade after realizing they left stolen goods with him. The choice to leave him behind marks a moral collapse under war’s pressure and foreshadows further consequences. Their fear of discovery drives a dangerous decision.
Where:Soviet front snowfield
- 9
Two looters return to find only tracks and a missing partner
Two of the men return to collect the hidden goods and find only sled tracks and their missing partner. Haunted by the signs of betrayal, they decide to flee, showing how guilt and panic propagate in war-torn terrain. The discovery intensifies the sense of impending danger.
Where:Soviet battlefield
- 10
The trio are hunted by Soviet partisans
As they try to escape, the looters encounter Soviet partisans who complicate their already perilous situation. The confrontation tests their nerve and resourcefulness amid shifting control of the front. The partisans' presence reframes the looters' desperation.
Where:Soviet front
- 11
Captain's failed assault on a female partisan
In a final act of defiance, the captain attempts to overpower a female partisan but is fatally shot. The partisan resistance underscores the stubborn courage of those fighting back against occupation. The capture and subsequent recovery of the wounded prisoner closes the episode with a somber reckoning.
Where:Soviet front lines
- 12
Partisans recover the wounded prisoner; war continues
The partisans recover their wounded prisoner, reaffirming the moral cost of the conflict and the resilience of resistance. The episode encapsulates the broader human and moral conflicts running through the two Germanys.
Where:Soviet front lines
Who Are the Main Characters in The Murderers Are Coming?
8 characters, among them Mother, Daughter and Anna: who each one is and the part they play in the story.
- M
Mother
An anxious mother living under the Nazi regime who anchors the family’s survival. She shows stubborn resilience and defies soldiers in small, symbolic ways, revealing quiet courage under oppression. Her protective instinct for her children drives every decision.
- 🛡️ Protective
- 🕊️ Resilience
- 💔 Sacrifice
- D
Daughter
The Daughter is pregnant and resents the regime's gestures, highlighting the strain of wartime scarcity. Her tension with her mother and husband underlines how propaganda and rationing fray personal relationships. Her pregnancy adds urgency to their struggles.
- 🤰 Pregnancy
- 💔 Resentment
- 🕯️ Fear
- A
Anna
Anna is a young woman anxious about finances and survival, reflecting everyday life under repression. She senses danger from the regime and warns her brother of possible repercussions. Her experiences reveal the fragility of ordinary hope in wartime.
- 🕊️ Hope
- 🧭 Fear
- 💬 Voice
- T
Theo
Theo is Anna's partner who dismisses her concerns, embodying skepticism and resilience in the face of scarcity. He negotiates the harsh realities of life under a totalitarian state with a blend of cynicism and pragmatism.
- 🗣️ Disillusionment
- ⛓️ Oppression
- F
Franz
Franz is Anna's brother who becomes entangled in the family’s warnings about danger. His role emphasizes the tight circles of kinship and the shared responsibility to protect one another.
- 👨👦 Family
- 🧭 Loyalty
- H
Husband
The Husband fears retribution after their son, a Hitler Youth member, reads aloud about executions. His response hints at the uncertain loyalties and the chilling climate of suspicion in wartime homes.
- 👪 Family
- 🌀 Fear
- W
Wife
The Wife, a factory worker, mourns her brother and voices unsettling rumors about parachuting pilots. Her anti-regime remarks terrify neighbors and illuminate the dangers of dissent in close-knit communities.
- 🪖 Labor
- 🗣️ Rumors
- C
Captain
A German captain who attempts to overpower a female partisan, embodying brutal authority and moral collapse. His fatal shooting at the end signals the high stakes of resistance and the costs of supremacy.
- ⚔️ Authority
- 🗡️ Brutality
Where and When Is The Murderers Are Coming Set?
The Murderers Are Coming is set in Nazi Germany and Soviet Union (World War II era). Here is why the time and place matter to the story.
When
World War II era
Set during World War II, the story captures life under Hitler's regime and the daily struggles of civilians and soldiers alike. The Winter Relief program, the Hitler Youth, and the front threaten personal safety and future prospects. The events unfold across a war-torn Europe, illustrating the era's moral fragility.
Where
Nazi Germany, Soviet Union
The film shifts between the streets of Nazi Germany and the snow-covered terrain of the Soviet Union. It portrays a society under totalitarian control, where soldiers drift through unfamiliar towns and civilians endure shortages during the Winter Relief program. The Soviet sequences depict partisan activity and the harsh realities of war, contrasting with the German home front.
- 🪖 War
- 🕯️ Propaganda
- 🕵️ Surveillance
- 💔 Family
What Are the Themes of The Murderers Are Coming?
3 ideas the story keeps returning to, among them War Brutality, Surveillance & Propaganda and Moral Dilemmas.
-
01
War Brutality
War's brutality is shown through both overt violence and the random cruelty of soldiers who shoot a man in panic. The film highlights how fear, alcohol, and propaganda erode moral boundaries, leaving civilians to bear the consequences. It reveals how communities cope with brutal acts and the impact on trust and safety.
-
02
Surveillance & Propaganda
Chalk marks on Anna's back hint at an omnipresent surveillance culture and the fear of informants. The Winter Relief gifts serve as propaganda, a veneer of care masking coercion and control. Characters navigate rumors, censorship, and self-preservation under a totalitarian regime.
-
03
Moral Dilemmas
Families and lovers face choices between compliance and quiet defiance. Small acts—such as resisting a gesture or questioning authority—reveal a fragile moral core. The narrative shows how ordinary people struggle to maintain humanity amid fear and coercion.
What Kind of Film Is The Murderers Are Coming?
Tense in tone, with variable pacing and a complex story, going by the plot summary.
- Tone
- Tense
- Pacing
- Variable
- Story
- Complex
- Intensity
- High
- Ending
- Mixed
An intensely tense and morally complex mosaic of life under Nazi rule, portraying the claustrophobic fear, quiet desperation, and fleeting acts of defiance within a society consumed by suspicion and violence.
- oppressive
- claustrophobic
- anxious
- somber
- grim
- morally ambiguous
- political oppression
- war and survival
- fear and surveillance
- moral complicity
Content notes: war violence, political execution, surveillance and paranoia, antisemitism.
Quiz
How well do you remember The Murderers Are Coming? Test yourself on the story.
