How others will see it. This film has two major surprises. Avert your eyes, for I'm about to reveal them, in order to properly analyze them. 1. Zamira is shot. 2. She shows up unharmed later in the film. These do not conflict, since #2 takes place before #1, or does it? This is a mind game on the part of the director, part of the mumbo jumbo of the early and late quote "Time never stops. The circle is not round."
How I felt about it. But the real purpose of the movie is not to mess with your head. Clearly, Before the Rain is an anti-war statement against the militias of one ethnicity that target their counterparts within a rival ethnicity. The homicidal yet petty tyranny of these militias is clear, regardless of whether the militia is Macedonian, or ethnic Albanian.
In the opening chapter, Kiril is surprised to find that his humble monk quarters now harbors a fugitive. He has a choice to make: does he report her, or shelter her? Not only does he choose the latter, he falls in love with her, and leaves the monastery with her. But peace between tribes, even on the smallest scale, is not to be.
Would Kiril have acted differently if his stowaway was a grown man instead of a young and attractive (if boyish) woman? Probably. Which shows that good will toward men is easier to manage if there's romance and mystery involved.
So, why does cameraman Alex want to leave England, where he's safe, free, and fooling around with attractive (and younger) reporter Anne? Alex may have some misguided idea that he could bring peace to his now troubled old neighborhood, or perhaps he feels he should try to do so as a penance for (in his mind) participating in the civil war. A photographer who sees a war crime is more than a mere witness, because he is usually under the wing of an organization that favors one side or the other. Or is that side altogether.
Alex cannot hope to heal the murderous rift between the rival ethnicities, even in his small hometown village. Perhaps he is as tired of his life as he is of the war, and sees martyrdom as a way to end one or the other if not both.