Night Watch (2004)

Without any connection to the seasonal holidays, I somehow finally managed to see "Night Watch", the first part of a Russian "trilogy" (that's what the poster says) that as far as I know stopped eventually after two movies. The film is directed by Timur Bekmambetov, more known after some visits to Hollywood for "Wanted", "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" and the latest "Ben Hur". Actually it seems these came after the success he had with this production, which for me is part of very narrow niche of movies that don't make much sense, but somehow managed to keep me watching till the end.

There's a story that puts the light and darkness forces in conflict since ages, having momentarily a sort of truce with some not very clear rules (there's nothing very clear in this movie). We have some human agents on the light side who can see other invisible agents who, again it's not very clear if they're human or not, but in brief they are responsible with enforcing this order. Anton, a guy recruited by the good side, gets involved in a rescue operation for a plane heading towards a potential crash over Moscow, unless a curse on a blonde woman living in a tower doesn't get removed. Meanwhile, Anton should also take care that his son who is not his son doesn't become food for vampires. If all this summary seems already between too entangled and semi-absurd, trust me is way clearer than the way the action unfolds in the movie. We have a sort of surrealism a la "Fisher King" by Gilliam combined with a tint of "apocalypse is coming" that looks like a mix between "End of Days", "Omen" and "Warlock II: The Armageddon" (maybe the latter is too obscure, but has its place on this list).

The movie is very good on visuals and audio. Considering how well the end of the world touch is blended into what's a normal evening in Moscow, I think you can forgive the way too obvious Nescafe advertising. No pun intended, probably that's what kept me awake to see it until the end. Even so, I have some doubts I'll have the patience also for "Day Watch" (the second part) that should bring closure.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5