Nochnoy Dozor (Nightwatch) [2004]
Wow, where to begin…wow. This movie is a Russian production, which is important, since you’ll probably go and watch it in Russian when you get around to seeing it. When I saw it, I felt that there was quite a bit lost in translation, because if you don’t pay supreme attention to the film, it can get quite confusing. That said, it’s an excellent fantasy-horror film about the forces of good and evil, light and darkness waging battle on earth since time immemorial. They do battle through their agents, which are called the Other, and they get to pick a side. I call them agents because they look out for the best interest of their respective side, trying to get ahead. The weird thing is, while the agents are on either of the opposite ends of the spectrum, often they go out to a pub to have a drink together.
The agents of darkness are referred to as vampires, and do your standard issue vampire things. They aren’t allowed to make other vampires from normal, non-Other humans, unless they get permission from the agents of Light, who decide over those matters. Naturally the agents of Darkness are a little pissed and more than a little envious of this. There are shapeshifters, witches, superhumans, vampires, curses, ghosts, etc., so there must be something here for those who like the fantastic.
Anyway, that’s the setting, sort of. It’s really hard to explain, and this movie deserves to be given a fair chance. It’s based on a series of books by Sergei Lukyanenko, and turned into a trilogy of films, Nochnoy Dozor 2: Mel Sudby a.k.a. Day Watch being the next of them.
Ehm, yeah. Hard to explain.
