I recently saw the film Night Watch, a theatrical version of the first book of the trilogy by Russian author Sergei Lukyanenko. Released in Russia, it was the top grossing movie of all time there. The film was licensed in the US and I saw it at the Landmark E Street Theater.

The film is about the great battle between Light and Dark. It posits that besides humanity, there are Others who inhabit the planet. These humans that are a bit different have skills that allow them to do superhuman acts, such as shape-shifting, vampirism, seeing into the future, and so forth. In accordance with a truce between the Dark and Light that occurred during the Middle Ages, all newly emergent Others are free to choose whether they will be Light Others or Dark Others. No one may interfere directly in this choice, and all Others must not deceive regular humans from committing good or bad acts. Free choice is paramount. After the truce, each side created a sort of police force to make sure the other side plays by the rules. Night Watch is made up of Light Others who monitor the Dark Others. A similar group on the Dark side is Day Watch. This film focuses on the Night Watch. The main character realizes he is an Other while interacting with a Dark Other. He went to this Dark Other to take care of a personal problem. He chooses to be a Light Other and work on Night Watch. The film progresses from this point, with the action occurring in Moscow.

Visually, the movie is stunning. It is part Matrix, part vampire flick and part drama. It literally feels like you’ve plopped right down in the middle of a Russian novel. It reminded me of The Master and Margarita, a novel by Mikhail Bulgakov. Go see this movie, it is worth the time and money to see an interesting take on the battle between the Light and the Dark. I can’t wait to see the sequels. All three have been released in Russia and in Russian-speaking countries. Hopefully, the US won’t have to wait too long to get a hold of these flicks. I also look forward to reading the novels, which haven’t been released yet in English translation.