Following the deaths of their parents in 1941, Tuvia, Zus, and Asael Bielski, with their youngest brother, Aron, hide out in the forest near their home. They very quickly find others coming to join them, and the eldest, Tuvia (Daniel Craig), finds himself leading a band of Jews, which becomes known as the Bielski Otriad. At first, Tuvia seeks revenge for his parents’ deaths, killing the man responsible, as well as his two sons. But subsequently he changes his approach, deciding instead to save those his enemies sought to exterminate.
"Our revenge is to live," he explains.
His brother Zus (Liev Schreiber) has different ideas. He disagrees with Tuvia’s attempt to save people who, in their previous lives, would have treated the Bielskis with disdain. When discussing their worth with his brother, Zus defends his position, calling them "pretentious Jews".
"Jews who stuck up their noses at us. Jews who would go out of their way to lock their daughters away from our dirty hands," he says.
He believes he and his brothers should prioritise their own interests, and at first, Tuvia agrees, considering using the others as a distraction to allow them to escape if the Germans were to find them.
But as the film progresses, Tuvia grows more attached to the people he is leading, and he begins to feel a sense of responsibility for them. Tuvia’s former teacher, Shimon Haretz (Allan Corduner), reinforces this idea, telling him, "The Talmud says if you save a life you must take responsibility for it."
Zus, on the other hand, becomes more disillusioned, eventually abandoning the forest community, along with some others who would rather be fighting and killing Germans – dealing out their own brand of revenge.
The third brother, Asael (Jamie Bell), finds himself trapped between his two conflicting siblings. As the film progresses, he matures and becomes an important support for Tuvia in his position of leadership, at one point having to take over his role to encourage the group when Tuvia gives up hope.
The director, Edward Zwick, sought to help the audience gain an understanding of what it might have been like to be in such a situation, and to ask, "What would I have done in those circumstances?"
Tuvia and Zus exemplify two different responses to the position they find themselves in. Where Tuvia seeks to save his friends, Zus sets out to destroy his enemies. Following Tuvia’s return from avenging their parents’ deaths, Zus learns that his wife and child have been killed, and he determines to take revenge on their murderers.
Tuvia has come to the conclusion that murder is not the answer, and tries to convince Zus. But his brother is unwilling to succumb to Tuvia’s argument. If Tuvia could take revenge, then so should he be able to. But under his brother’s leadership, Zus is unable to fully satisfy his desire to fight. Conflicting perspectives lead Zus and a few others to join the nearby Russian partisan camps. Here they are able to fully unleash their fury against their oppressors. But when they find themselves surrounded by the German forces, the Russians opt to flee the area, abandoning the Bielski Otriad. Zus realises that his place is alongside his brothers and he leads his friends back to fight alongside Tuvia and Asael.
