Shot in a Ukrainian hospital full of desperate patients and makeshift equipment, The English Surgeon is an intimate portrait of brain surgeon Henry Marsh as he wrestles with the dilemmas of the doctor patient relationship. Henry’s own emotional journey to visit the mother of a young girl he tried to save years ago is intercut with the story of a poor young man called Marian. He is dying of a brain tumor said to be inoperable in Ukraine, and has come to Kiev hoping that Henry can save him. Henry believes he can, but only if Marian is awake throughout the entire operation.