The general consensus seems to be that Day Watch’s predecessor, Night Watch, was a rather intense collision of images and ideas that left audiences wondering what it was actually about. It didn’t however stop people rushing to see the first fantasy film to come out of Russia courtesy of a new generation of Russian filmmakers who had been brought up on video clips and advertisements. While Day Watch replicates the dizzying mix of hyper-kinetic cinematography, visual effects, nail-biting horror and amazing action sequences through contemporary Moscow, the plot is fortunately more understandable.
The film focuses on the war between the forces of Light and Darkness and an ancient truce that is about to be shattered. Anton (Konstantin Khabensky) is caught up in the middle as the fragile balance between good and evil as the forces of Light and Dark battle for his soul. The members of Night Watch and Day Watch represent two opposing social philosophies. Day Watchers are the Dark Ones and the Night Watchers are all about responsibility and conscious. While Anton and his love interest Svetlana (Maria Poroshina) battle for the Light, Anton’s young son Egor (Dima Martynov) join the ranks of the Dark Ones.
As both sides hunt for the ancient Chalk of Fate, ancient magic is set loose. Supernatural beings of the Night and Day Watches weave among the rundown apartments and crowded subways of modern Russia. Utilising 42 small visual effects studios throughout Russia, this adrenaline-fuelled epic is not only an entertainment phenomenon, but also a sign that a new, revitalised post-Soviet Russian cinema has finally arrived.
Directed by Timur Bekmambetov (R)
