Synopsis for "Could be Brothers"

Stan Coney, a young but careworn Corporal in the British Army takes up his post for the night watch and stares out over the dimly lit landscape. Its autumn 1944 and British troops are pushing their way back across Europe towards Berlin, the sleepless nights and hard days have taken their toll on Coney who looks drained and exhausted. He places his rifle on the lintel in front of him and peers through its telescopic sight, seeing nothing he sighs and leans over to his two-way radio and changes the frequency. A voice humming loudly comes in through the white noise and Coney laughs. The humming is coming from a German Lieutenant named Karl Wildieb and the two of them have been chatting long into the night these last few weeks, talking about their friends and family back in their respective hometowns, their common fondness for French red wine and tobacco, all serious thoughts of the war cast aside for a couple of hours each night. Tonight as they discuss music Coney starts rolling a cigarette, without thinking he sticks it in his mouth and lights it, drawing heavily on it the tip glows brightly in the night and a shot rings out. The bullet passes straight through his head and exits violently, his body slumps and the cigarette rolls across the dirt floor away from him. Karls voice comes over the radio “I think I got one Stan!”