Closely Watched Trains ending explained

What happens

Miloš climbs the signal bridge and drops the bomb as the ammunition train passes beneath him. A German soldier shoots him, and he falls onto the train as it explodes. The shy boy has become, almost by accident, a man who acts.

The last image

Miloš, shot on the bridge, falls onto the passing ammunition train as it explodes.

What it says

The ending says courage is not a pose but something ordinary people find once the jokes run out. After so much gentle comedy, the sudden blow shows what the humour was hiding, and that growing up can arrive in the middle of a war.