Queen of the Mountains

Hundreds of years ago, the Kyrgyz Khanate...

stretched over a vast area.

As time went by,

there were civil wars.

Genghis Khan and Tamerlane

crushed the people of the great empire.

They drove them into the mountains,

and left them on the brink of extinction.

Only forty clans survived.

Central Asia, 1816

Mouths grinning, eyes bulging,

The corpses of horses,

and fallen soldiers on the hill.

A river of tears streams down the mountain,

the pines weep, and the poplars weep,

a star falls from the sky,

the earth weeps, and the people weep.

Who will lead us now?

Dear Father,

we've come to ask for a favor.

We need your blessing.

We are unable to get a child.

All our efforts are in vain.

Is that not a child's voice I hear?

Is that not your child?

Yes, it's our child. She's a girl.

Bring her to me.

Your daughter is worth ten sons.

In the future she will benefit the entire country.

Oh Almighty, let her live a long life.

Damn...

That's just what we need.

Calm down..

Don't get angry.

Shut up!

Hey, ragamuffin..

Move over for your daughter,

"Ruler of the people"

"The future queen"

Kurmanjan!

Do you like Kulseit?

What happened?

Akbalban?

Don't marry him.

I've seen him. He can't even sit on his horse.

We've been engaged since I was a child. I wear his earrings.

Give me those earrings, I will return them to him.

That's enough, stop it!

Girls, look ...

Come here.

Let's start.

Stop!

Make way! Get off the road!

Greetings, my Bey.

What are you gathered here for, Aldayar?

We are here to punish the tramp,

according to Sharia Law.

Adultery, my Bey. Adultery.

This tramp cheated on her husband.

Where's the evidence?

Two people saw her,

that's enough.

There are more!

Let him pass.

Who is this poor kid?

The brother of the harlot.

Bey, do not use your authority,

to break Sharia law.

Are there any witnesses in her defense?

Yes. The neighbours.

The word of a woman is not considered evidence, my Bey!

Untie her!

Water...

Get her some water!

What's your name, sweetheart?

Me? Kurmanjan,

Daughter of Mamatbai, of the Mongush clan.

Do you know what's written on this jar?

I do.

My grandfather taught me.

God bless you, Kurmanjan.

If you touch just a single hair on that woman's head,

you will lose yours.

What was your daughter doing over there?

She and her friends went to get some water.

A girl who is engaged, should not give cause for gossip.

Did you ask me if I want to marry him?

Even if you kill me, I will not do it.

In the eyes of God and the people,

the only husband you will have,

is Kulseit.

Our girl, on the mountainside,

where the grass whispers,

and the falcon hunts.

Young and old have gathered,

to accompany you to your fiancee.

Our girl raises her head proudly.

She has to take care of her father's honour.

When there's no cause,

the slander will go away.

Honor your father-in-law like a Bey.

Your husband's family will protect you.

Be happy with your husband,

Rock the cradle,

Reconcile yourself with your fate,

Rock the cradle,

Celebrate your wedding,

Be cheerful.

Our girl, her heart is filled with fear.

We protect you in times of adversity,

In a strange land, and a strange house,

What will happen to you...

Be happy.

Dear mother of my son-in-law!

Let her be young and happy,

treat her as your daughter.

Kurmanjan!

Enough!

You make your sister look like a slave.

Drink kumis!

The poor thing doesn't know, how thirsty she soon will be.

The master isn't home.

The master isn't, but the missus is.

Don't be afraid, my love.

Now...

Everything will be fine.

You haven't eaten for three days.

Your father fell ill.

And what can he do?

What..

What will the people think of us now?

Silk from Alai is not spread out in the sun, my Bey.

I don't throw silver dust, my Bey.

On the green mountain I went mad, my Bey.

I was not born to be a falcon's prey, my Bey.

You don't hunt a white swan with a falcon, my Bey.

In the whole world only you are my equal, my Bey.

Come in, Eltoydu.

The falcon has finished his training.

I received a complaint from Kulseit of the Barga clan.

What is he complaining about?

His wife.

Datka, maybe...

There are a lot of cases, Eltoydu.

We will visit Alai later.

Let Kudaiberdi Bey handle this complaint.

Let him sort this out.

You stole from us.

Now you stand there as if nothing happened.

You're an idiot, for not honoring ancestral customs.

Why so angry, Kezekbay?

As if you've come to kill and plunder.

Come on, let's talk...

Now he blames us!

You heard it, Bey.

Now he's saying that not he, but we are the thieves.

He looks you in the face, and steals behind your back.

So what is this about?

Run away in the middle of the night, from your lawful husband?

If we're guilty, we're guilty.

Come in, Bey,

let's talk inside.

Alright, let's negotiate.

Get Kurmanjan.

They're calling for Kurmanjan.

Oh Almighty!

Baatyr,

what would you say, if we became brothers-in-law?

I heard you're a pretty good archer.

If you want to,

I take you with your sister,

and make you lead my horsemen, when you grow up.

Abdylda, hold your breath when you draw the bow,

Now you, Kamchybek.

Pull harder, come on ...

Well done!

We made some progress, Datka.

Hello, uncle. What you are doing?

Hello, Kamchybek Mirza!

I'm making a whip for your mother.

I have a whip as well.

Wow, what a whip!

Let's see, how good it is ...

Kamchybek, this whip will not do.

This is a handle made of hawthorn,

You see, it's solid and strong as iron.

You're name is Kamchybek, so you're as strong as Kamchia oak.

Kokand

Welcome, my Bey.

Recently, the subservients of your land,

have given me more complaints than taxes.

I can't deny that.

But, apparently, the taxes are increased,

and they've become unbearable.

So what can we do about it, my dear Bey.

Only Ferghana and Tashkent pay taxes regularly.

Bukhara is more powerful than us. They're in the same position,

but they do not extort their people.

The Khanate of Kokand, is going through hard times.

Your brothers in the north, Arkalyk,