June 21, 1941. Chisinau, Moldavian SSR. At a military airfield, Captain Afanasy Karmanov speaks with a technician who asks if war will start: he doesn't know what to write to his wife. Karmanov reassures his comrade—no one wants war, but they are prepared. At dawn the next day, war becomes a reality. Karmanov enters the battle and shoots down enemy aircraft. "Karmanov" is a film about the final hours of peace and a man who doesn't yet know that in two days he will die in the skies he defended.