Sundance 2025 Review: 2000 METERS TO ANDRIIVKA, Brutal Realities of Modern Warfare

Ukrainian filmmaker and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mstyslav Chernov, who received an Academy Award for Best Documentary last year for 20 Days of Mariupol, presented his latest war documentary, 2000 Meters to Andriivka, at the Sundance Film Festival.

In this film, Chernov embeds with a Ukrainian platoon as it advances through a forest toward the Russian-occupied village of Andriivka. His work offers an unfiltered and immediate perspective on the conflict, capturing the harsh realities of the frontline in a way that moves beyond the detachment of conventional news coverage.

Chernov’s reputation as a documentarian is deeply tied to his dedication to capturing the immediacy of frontline experiences. 20 Days in Mariupol provided a harrowing portrayal of the civilian suffering during the initial phase of Russia’s invasion, documenting the siege with unflinching honesty. In contrast, 2000 Meters to Andriivka turns its lens toward the soldiers, offering an intimate view of life in the trenches. 

Set against the backdrop of Ukraine’s faltering counteroffensive in 2023, 2000 Meters to Andriivka unfolds as immersive observational reporting. Combining Ukrainian Army bodycam footage, Chernov’s on-the-ground cinematography with collaborator Alex Babenko, and reflective moments from the soldiers themselves in impromptu “talking heads” segments, the documentary captures the claustrophobia and relentlessness of war, exposing the blood, sweat, and trauma etched on its participants.

2000 Meters to Andriivka begins with a tense scene depicting a Russian attack on a Ukrainian transporter carrying soldiers toward the final stretch leading to the village. The area, once a forest, has been reduced to a desolate wasteland of barren trees, trenches, and dug-out shelters where soldiers brace themselves for drone strikes or prepare to hurl grenades at enemy positions.

Following the dramatic transporter attack, the film shifts to Ukrainian headquarters, where soldiers are briefed on their mission and make final preparations for combat. Chernov joins them on the battlefield, viscerally depicting the suffocating immediacy of their experience and the grueling, incremental nature of their progress.

Chernov’s interviews with the soldiers take place in brief intervals between drone attacks and the tense approach to Andriivka, where Ukrainian troops prepare to raise their flag. The leaders, many in their early 20s yet already seasoned veterans, reflect on their past lives, both distant and hauntingly recent. Despite the grim reality, the platoon remains spirited, exchanging jokes amid tactical discussions.

Chernov introduces them by their call signs, weaving in the harrowing detail of when each will die. This revelation casts a somber shadow over the narrative, intensifying the viewer’s awareness of the war’s staggering human cost. The sacrifices of these soldiers, though vital, feel heartbreakingly insufficient against the broader context of a conflict where human lives are expended far faster than any strategic gains are achieved.

Contrary to the popular perception of aestheticized modern warfare, often reinforced by video games, Chernov’s documentary portrays a starkly different reality, one of raw, analogue combat. Soldiers crawl across barren landscapes riddled with hidden mines and scattered corpses, seeking cover in shallow holes or behind charred tree trunks, where every bullet poses a mortal threat to either side.

Chernov’s camera remains unflinching, even when soldiers are killed in full view of their comrades. The GoPro footage from soldiers’ helmets provides an intimate, first-person perspective, but it bears no resemblance to the cinematic polish of Call of Duty III. Instead, the film captures the slow, grueling nature of combat, marked by scarce resources and relentless effort. The gritty details of prolonged fighting within a single platoon and over a single mile of contested ground strip warfare down to its bare, unembellished reality.

2000 Meters to Andriivka delivers an unflinching examination of war in its most brutal and unvarnished form, where even the smallest victories come at staggering costs. Chernov and Babenko document the arduous, draining advance toward Andriivka, culminating in the liberation of a village that has been completely obliterated, reduced to little more than rubble.

The first-person perspective immerses the viewer in the harsh realities of combat, exposing the relentless machinery of war through macabre details and moments of crushing futility. Any sense of hope is scarce, overshadowed by the profound human and material devastation left in its wake.

The film screened during the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Visit the film's page at the official festival site for more information.