Sisu is a 2022 Finnish historical action thriller film, with considerable influences from the Spaghetti Westerns of Sergio Leone, which was written and directed by Jalmari Helander. The film stars Jorma Tommila, Aksel Hennie, Jack Doolan, Mimosa Willamo and Onni Tommila. Set during the Lapland War between Finland and Nazi Germany towards the end of World War II, a legendary Finnish Army commando turned gold prospector attempts to defend himself from being robbed and murdered by a Waffen-SS platoon led by an infamously brutal and corrupt officer.

In late 1944, during the Lapland War, Aatami Korpi lives alone with his horse and faithful Bedlington Terrier while he prospects in the Lapland wilderness. Aatami uncovers a rich gold deposit, where he collects a hefty amount of nuggets and heads towards Rovaniemi. Along the way, Aatami encounters a large Waffen-SS platoon led by Obersturmführer Bruno Helldorf. Helldorf is destroying villages during their retreat towards Norway and has taken several Finnish women captive. Helldorf takes little interest in Aatami, letting him pass. Aatami is soon accosted by a second platoon of SS soldiers who discover his saddlebags full of gold. They jeeringly decide to rob and execute him, but he swiftly kills them all. Alerted by the gunfire, Helldorf investigates and discovers the massacre and one of Aatami’s gold nuggets.

Helldorf and his tank pursue Aatami to the edge of a minefield, where Aatami’s horse is killed by a landmine. Gathering up his gold while Helldorf and his men watch, Aatami intentionally detonates another mine to make his escape. Several soldiers are sent after him, but are quickly blown up by mines. Helldorf orders two of the captive women ahead to ensure a clear path. After retrieving Aatami’s dog tag, Helldorf’s second-in-command Wolf learns over the radio of Aatami’s past. After losing his family while fighting as a Finnish Army commando during the Winter War, the vengeful Aatami became the legendary “one-man death squad” whom Joseph Stalin’s Red Army nicknamed Koshchei (“the Immortal”). Helldorf defies his orders to continue retreating in order to hunt down Aatami and steal the gold, explaining to Wolf that Nazi Germany has already lost the war, and they will need the gold to escape prosecution for war crimes.

The German soldiers dispatch dogs to follow Aatami’s trail. Aatami sends his own dog away before using petrol from one of the German trucks to cover his scent. However, the soldiers soon discover him and Aatami dives into a nearby lake. Helldorf sends three soldiers onto the lake in a boat, but Aatami kills two of them by slitting their throats underwater and breathes in the escaping air from their necks. The remaining German soldier attempts to flee, but is executed by Wolf. Aatami uses the soldier’s body as a shield after reaching the riverbank and escapes. On the other side of the river, Aatami’s dog is discovered by Helldorf.

Aatami discovers that Rovaniemi has been left in burning ruins and takes shelter in the remains of a petrol station. Helldorf sends Aatami’s dog to find him, but with a lit Stielhandgranate attached to his collar. Aatami saves his dog but is knocked down and stunned when the grenade explodes. Helldorf, Wolf, and tank driver Schütze hang Aatami, taking the gold and leaving him for dead, but Aatami hooks his wounds onto protruding rebar, saving his life. Some time later, a pair of German pilots land in search of fuel. Aatami kills the engineer and forces the surviving pilot to fly him ahead of Helldorf’s platoon.