Can one man truly make a difference? After watching this film, I think your answer has to be “yes.” It’s about Stanislav Petrov. What? You’ve never heard of him?! Well, don’t worry; unless you’re a student of Cold War history, you probably wouldn’t have. But take my word for it—many of us are here today thanks to a single decision made by this man. A single, incredible, almost inconceivable decision.

This movie is part narrative film, part documentary, and it works incredibly well that way, I think. The flashbacks give you a good idea of the pressure that Stanislav was facing, and reminds us of a time when the world was poised on the brink of destruction. Now, I’m not a frothing-at-the-mouth anti-nuke guy by any means (but I certainly wouldn’t mind if they were never used again. Ever.), but even so, this film can make you feel sick to your stomach at just how little it would take to tip us over that brink. And just how close we came.

Stanislav himself is a complex character. He is at times “aggressive and angry,” in the words of his young translator, and flies into a rage when anyone dares question him about his family. And yet, there are moments of reflection, and almost fatherly (or grandfatherly, I guess) tenderness towards that same translator. And he can seem very sweet, too. His big wish in visiting America is to meet his favorite actor, Kevin Costner, and he brings Costner a gift that he had tried to send to his house, not realizing that one can’t just mail things to celebrities’ houses. Costner, for his part, can’t believe that Stanislav wants to meet with HIM. “I just PLAY heroes,” he says. The exchanges between the two were, I thought, some of the nicest moments of the film. (There are a couple of funny lines throughout the film that take a good-natured poke at Matt Damon, too, which made me laugh. “He’s an actor,” the translator tells him. “Pretend you know him.”)

This film will make you cry. And not always in a good way. You will cry over big things, such as when you fathom, if one even can, the horrible fate that the world very well could have met, as Petrov explains to Costner (in a particularly emotional scene) the damage resulting from a policy of mutually assured destruction, and you will cry over little things, too, such as long overdue family reunions. It is, I think, a marvelous little film that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Be sure to catch this one if you can. No matter what side of the political aisle you’re on, no matter what your ideology is, I think you’ll find something wonderful to take away from this. Great job by Director Peter Anthony. IMDB has it at 7.8. Since I only do half-point scores, I’ll bump it up to an 8. Another strong candidate for the best of the year list. (It’s listed as 2014, but doesn’t have a general US release yet; it’s only been playing festivals here, so far.) (running time 1:50)

p.s. Be aware that even though the cast lists several celebrities, Costner is the only one with more than a momentary appearance, and he’s only in it for a few minutes. I’m not crazy about the deceptive practice of trying to headline cameo appearances, but if it gets people to watch the film, I’m okay with it in this case.