K 19: The Widowmaker

K19 The Widowmaker is a 2002 submarine thriller film about the first of many disasters that befell the Soviet submarine K19.

In 1961, the Soviet Union launches its first ballistic missile nuclear submarine, the K19. The ship is led by Captain Alexei Vostrikov, aided by executive officer Mikhail Polenin. Polenin, the original captain, and the crew have served together for some time but Vostrikovs appointment is alleged to have been aided by his wifes political connections. During his first inspection, Vostrikov discovers the submarines reactor officer to be drunk and asleep on duty. Vostrikov sacks the officer and orders Polenin to request a replacement. The new reactor officer, Vadim Radtchenko, arrives direct from nuclear school having just been fresh from the naval academy, annoying Polenin who thinks Vostrikov was too punitive on the former reactor officer who was competent despite his momentary lapse of judgment. Also, during the preparation period for the subs launch, the ships medical officer is killed when struck by an oncoming truck, and is subsequently replaced by the commands foremost medical officer, an army officer who has graciously offered himself in the submarines time of need, but also privately admits to Vostrikov that as an army officer he has never been out to sea and suffers from motion sickness. During the K19s official launch, the bottle of champagne fails to break when it strikes the bow the sailors nervously glance at each other due to this customary sign of bad luck.The crews performance improves and Vostrikov decides to carry out the K19s first mission, which is to surface in the Arctic and fire an unarmed test ballistic missile. After that, the K19 will patrol a zone in the Atlantic within range of New York and Washington D.C. just in case the U.S. launches an attack to the Soviet Union. ........

Source: Wikipedia