Biographical movie based on remembered incidents in the childhood of the Patriach of all Russia, Alexi II. As a boy of around 12 years of age he witnessed the start of World War 2 and the German occupation of Estonia. He served as an altar boy to his father and on occasion played Chess with a German officer. He clearly remembers a trip to Valaam Island with his father and how a mystical experience guided Alexi to follow in his fathers footsteps and become a priest.