An old donkey resolves to break away from the unbearable hardships of working for a fat miller. By and by, he recruits three more unsatisfied animals and convinces them to accompany him on his way to Bremen where they want to become musicians.

In Cold War-era West Berlin, American Coca-Cola executive C.R. 'Mac' MacNamara is tasked with playing babysitter to his boss' spoiled 17-year-old daughter Scarlett, who proves more difficult than anticipated when she reveals that she is pregnant by a Communist.

Nine fictitious documentaries and films reflect the mood of late 1970s Germany, particularly the two-month period in 1977 when a businessman was kidnapped by the RAF (Red Army Faction). The kidnap had been made to orchestrate the release of the original leaders of the RAF, aka the Baader-Meinhof.

A European village lies close to a river, which is a boundary between two countries. A severe storm changes the course of the river, and the village is now in the boundary of the neighboring totalitarian country.

1958: during the Russian campaign, a military priest is called upon to assist Private Baranowski, who has been sentenced to death for desertion, on his last night. It is also the last night before the departure for Stalingrad, which the soldiers know means certain death. The priest leaves his room to a captain so that he can meet his fiancée one last time. He himself remains in Baranowski's cell and struggles with his conscience and his emotion - even more so when he learns that the young doomed man committed desertion out of love. But the execution is carried out, and a member of the firing squad finds only cynical words for the soldier's fate.

WWII is entering its last phase: Germany is in ruins, but does not yield. The US army lacks crucial knowledge about the German units operating on the opposite side of the Rhine, and decides to send two German prisoners to gather information. The scheme is risky: the Gestapo retains a terribly efficient network to identify and capture spies and deserters. Moreover, it is not clear that "Tiger", who does not mind any dirty work as long as the price is right, and war-weary "Happy", who might be easily betrayed by his feelings, are dependable agents. After Tiger and another American agent are successfully infiltrated, Happy is parachuted in Bavaria. His duty: find out the whereabouts of a powerful German armored unit moving towards the western front.

A soldier fighting for France loses his memory and has a second career as a national leader, but in Germany.