In this opening it is clearly foreshadowed that there would be conflicting themes about motherhood and military service, and this is furthered by the protagonist’s internal struggle between her devotion to the Russian revolution and her devotion to her child. The positivity of the feminist themes are reinforced with the witticisms of the Magazannik family, who have six children, and are more concerned with the wellbeing of their family than with the war. This is best conveyed in a scene where Yefim Magazannik (the father of the family and a local blacksmith) responds to an anecdote by Vavilova about the ideal of the soviet utopia where all men are equal in work with "but what about life?" Though the ending of the film features Klavdia Vavilova fleeing the Jewish household and her newborn son, this is due to the state-mandated style of heroic realism in film eclipsing the themes inherent to the overall work. Vavilova leaving may also be influenced by the children's favorite game, portraying the White Army hunting Jews. Immediately prior to Vavilova deciding to leave, there is a particularly brutal scene where the male children chase and bind their sister, ripping her clothes as she calls out for her mother. Their father reprimands them harshly, but Vavilova appears greatly troubled by the event and may feel a responsibility to prevent this type of brutality.