A six-hour long epic (original director's cut) about the life of Don Cossacks in a village in southern Russia between 1912 and 1922. The leading character Grigori Melekhov is a rugged Cossack who is torn between his first and true love Aksiniya, and his wife Natalya. His personal life is shown as a rough journey through the experience of World War One, the Russian Revolution, and the following Civil War. The Cossacks are shown as traditional farmers and warriors, who are suffering through the most dramatic events in the history of Russia.