The Beast (aka The Beast of War) is about a Soviet T-62 tank lost in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1981. The film was released in 1988. It was based on a play by William Mastrosimone titled Nanawatai. It was directed by Kevin Reynolds, who later directed Waterworld. It starred George Dzundza, Jason Patric and Steven Baldwin. A Soviet tank unit in Afghanistan helps "cleanse" a village and destroy it. One of the tanks, led by a ruthless commander Daskal, orders the crushing of a captured prisoner under the tank's tracks. While leaving the village, Daskal's tank becomes separated from his unit and is soon lost. Mujahideen warriors, led by the murdered prisoner's brother Taj, discover the lost tank and see an opportunity for revenge. Knowing that the tank is in a valley with only one exit, they begin following its tracks, intending to use a captured RPG to attack it. Some village women also follow with captured grenades in their hands. The tank's crew is made up of four Soviets and one Afghan. As night falls and the crew sets up camp, Afghan tank driver Samad teaches the tank driver, Konstantin Koverchenko, the fundamentals of Pashtunwali, the code of honor of the Pashtun people: melmastia (hospitality), badal (revenge) and nanawatai, which requires that even an enemy be given refuge if he asks for it. We then see that Commander Daskal, nicknamed "Tank Boy" during the Great Patriotic War for having destroyed a number of German tanks during the Battle of Stalingrad, is not ruthless only towards the enemy, but also towards his men . He despises Samad and kills him under the pretext of suspecting him of a traitor. After Konstantin threatens to report Daskal for the murder, Daskal orders the other two crew members to tie Konstantin to a rock, with a grenade to serve as a trap for the mujahideen. Wild dogs approach him and as Konstantin tries to kick them, the grenade rolls onto the rock and explodes, killing one dog but leaving Konstantin unharmed. The sound, however, attracts the group of Afghan women. They begin to stone him and are soon joined by the mujahideen. Konstantin is saved when he remembers Samad's lesson about the "nanawatai", the sanctuary. He shouts the word and the mujahideen are forced to take him with them. Camping in a cave, they feed him and ask him to repair the broken RPG..