The Guy Ritchie' # The Convenant

The Covenant follows U.S. Army Sergeant John Kinley, who serves on a series of reconnaissance missions in Afghanistan looking for potential bombing threats in local villages. Kinley is traumatized within the opening moments when a surprise attack kills several members of his team, which makes him even more determined to root out the terrorist sects within the area. Since his previous Afghan contact was killed in the firefight, Kinley is assigned the new translator Ahmed, whose expert negotiating skills and knowledge of the area are put to good use. Despite their initial distrust of each other, Kinley and Ahmed form a tight bond with each other that becomes tested during the perils of service.

Kinley’s apprehensiveness of working with Ahmed has simply become overtly sensitive in the wake of the tragedy, and as a result, he’s bound to be suspicious of any new members of his team that could potentially be put in danger. It’s evident that he’s struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, and despite concerns from his commanding officer (Jonny Lee Miller), he has refused to abstain from his duties. Initially, he and Ahmed get into a conflict after the translator disobeys his direct orders so that their squad can find a peaceful solution to a local conflict; Kinley is infuriated that anyone would disobey him, as he bears the responsibility of protecting everyone under his command.

Kinley learns that Ahmed’s son was killed by the Taliban, and that he is only serving as a translator in order to obtain visas to transport his family out of the country safely. Both grieving men find a reason to connect with each other, and learn to trust and admire each other more. However, Kinley’s unit is pinned down once more after they’re betrayed by a local contact whose family has been held captive. After Kinley’s squad is massacred, and he’s gravely injured, Ahmed carries his wounded body for miles, traveling between cities to obtain medication and safety. While Kinley is transported out by the Americans, Ahmed is not rescued, and remains a fugitive of the Taliban.

In the aftermath, Kinely feels an extreme sense of guilt; he’s happy to be home with his wife (Emily Beecham) and child, but feels guilty that he’s able to rest easy when it was Ahmed who risked his life. Ahmed has not been able to get a visa for himself or his family, and Kinley tries for weeks to speak to weeks to get updates on his status. After many sleepless nights and no progress on Ahmed’s situation, Kinley learns that his former translator has become one of the Taliban’s most wanted, and that the U.S. military can’t locate him. He decides that he will have to return to Afghanistan on his own in order to find the man that saved his life, and repay the debt by taking his family to safety.