In 2004, lovers of mysticism and special effects had a chance to see on the big screens the first domestic blockbuster in the urban fantasy genre, directed by Timur Bekmambetov. The incredible story, based on the famous science fiction writer Sergei Lukyanenko, became a huge success at the box office and beat the box office at the time.
What is the Night Watch movie about?
The Guardians of Darkness and Light appeared in ancient times, when the Light side entered into a bloody battle with the Dark. In order to avoid a universal tragedy, the parties concluded a peace treaty, the execution of which was assigned to be monitored by a special group – patrols. Day was responsible for the light side, and Night – for the dark. The light force feeds on the rays of goodness from people: love, fidelity, compassion, care, empathy. When the Dark Forces are fed by negative human energy: fear, hatred, envy, malice. Both of them are called Others.
And until some time they managed to balance the two opposites, until the Great Other was born with the greatest power, capable of plunging the whole world into deep darkness.
So, it’s already 1992. Modern Moscow. Anton Gorodetsky was abandoned by his wife, and he decided to seek help from a sorceress, a certain citizen Schultz. Taking the wedding photo, hesitantly pressed the bell of the fateful apartment. The sorceress almost from the threshold told that his wife had run away to another and was already pregnant by him. Povetukha offered to perform a love spell, as well as to get rid of an unborn child with the help of witchcraft spells. Not understanding what he is doing, Anton agrees. But at the end of the spoken spell, when it remains only to clap your hands, a secret group of the Night Watch breaks into the room and stops the terrible conspiracy.
Shocked by what he saw, from that moment Gorodetsky fell into a cycle of strange events, discovering in himself abilities that are peculiar only to Others. It turned out that he has the ability to see what is happening in the parallel world – Twilight.
And for 12 years now, the newly minted magician has been standing guard over the Light Force, being an operational officer of the Night Watch.
One fine day, Anton, heading to the next task, saw a girl in the subway, over whose head a terrible dark funnel hung. This meant that the girl would soon die, and with her an irreparable catastrophe would happen, as a result of which hundreds of people would die.
In the company of Light magicians, he will have to save the boy Yegor from bloodthirsty vampires, unravel the mystery of the curse funnel, and also fight the very embodiment of dark power – Zabulon. There are many human lives on the account and a terrible threat of taking over the world by Darkness looms.
The meaning of the movie “Night Watch”
The plot of the film takes place on the verge of mysticism and everyday everyday dramas. It has a hidden subtext of a social nature, which is depicted as realistically as possible. Therefore, it is also called “Fantastic Reality”.
Despite the mystical fiction of the film, one can draw a parallel with real life. After all, the heroes find themselves in ordinary everyday situations: the wife left, which must be returned by any means; self-damnation due to guilt; revenge for a loved one.
Dark forces, as in life, are trying to lead a person to negative emotions, immoral acts, bad thoughts. Everyone has the right to decide for himself whether to succumb to them or not. Obviously, the main meaning of the film is an endless battle between good and evil. And the viewer is convinced of this when the main character at the beginning stained his soul with a dirty act, trying with the hands of a sorceress to return his wife and kill the child in the womb, and then, having taken the side of Light, he joined the fight against the forces of Evil. But you will have to pay for your mistakes sooner or later. And Anthony is no exception. After 12 years, he learns that the boy hunted by vampires is his son, who almost died because of unrequited love at the hands of a sorceress.
The film shows notes of the realities of a cruel world, where a person driven by a sense of selfishness, resentment, hatred, envy is ready for even the lowest deeds. But at the same time, somewhere near evil, conscience, light and kindness live, which are trying to pull along. And negative characters sometimes evoke sympathy and turn out to be not so evil. And in fact, on the contrary, seemingly cute creatures, later appear in a dark light.
Through the continuous confrontation between Light and Darkness, the filmmaker tried to convey the central idea that good and evil are present in each of us, which is why there is an eternal struggle with oneself. These forces are equal, but you can free your soul from evil by making the right choice, even when it’s too late. The only thing that is not destined to change is the history of life, even created by someone not according to the script.
The task of Anton Gorodetsky was to prevent Yegor from going over to the side of the Dark Forces, but, unfortunately, the revealed betrayal pushed the boy away from his senior mentor. He was disappointed in people, in the world, and no longer wanted to be like them – the Light One.
The point of The Night Watch is that life may not be as obviously simple as it seems. And among ordinary things, both evil and good can always be hidden, capable of influencing the further course of history. The hero of Khabensky, although he was conceived as a bearer of good, was initially tainted with evil. Just like many evil heroes are not so bad and deserve sympathy.
Atmosphere of Darkness and Light
In the film, the description of events is supplemented by appropriate pictures: gray streets, shabby buildings, most often it is night around, the colors are muted. This creates a special style, a sense of tension, struggle. Although the surrounding people – ordinary residents of Moscow – probably do not notice this. Vampires are shown as grotesque, while Light mages are mundane and dull. These are not angels in white, but simple electricians in robes.
Movie location
The film balances between mundane routine and pure mythology. Many plot motifs are borrowed from the second part – fairy-tale characters, the struggle between evil and good, an existential split within the main character. The first part has a hidden social connotation, a special meaning and is depicted deliberately realistically.
Sergey Lukyanenko himself participated in writing the script, and after watching the film, he admitted: “Due to the work of the cameraman, an unexpected angle, without any effects, I suddenly saw a completely different Moscow. Although I know the VDNH area very well, I felt that it was some kind of huge unknown metropolis. A city emerged outside of place and time. This is what Bekmambetov wanted to achieve.
Good and evil within us
The key idea of the film is that there is good and evil in every person. It is revealed metaphorically, through the constant confrontation between dark and light forces. This struggle will not stop as long as the human race is alive, because their strength is equal. Through the image of the protagonist, this confrontation is conveyed especially vividly. In the hero of Khabensky there is both light and darkness, as well as inside anyone on earth. And it depends on each of us which side of our content wins.
Explanation of the ending of the movie “Night Watch”
At the end of the film, the protagonist helps uncover the mystery of the black funnel. It turns out that Svetlana, over whom she hung over and threatened a great tragedy, because of a sense of guilt before her mother, cursed herself. As soon as the words: “Damn me!” were uttered from her lips, the funnel immediately dragged on and one problem on Earth became less.
Having finished with this matter, Anton sets off to rescue his son Yegor from the hands of a vampire (he learned about this relationship when he saw a joint photo of the boy with his ex-wife). A supporter of evil, the bloodsucker Larisa yearns for revenge for her murdered lover, whom Gorodetsky had to kill, saving his own life on a mission.
While Anton is negotiating with Larisa, the main villain Zabulon appears. The final battle of the two confrontations takes place, which almost ended with the victory of the Dark Lord. But when Anton tries to strike for the last time, Yegor appears before him instead of the enemy. The dumbfounded teenager asks the question: “Did you want to kill me?”. After that, Zabulon’s assistant opens all the cards to the boy and reads the protocol of detention from
August 19, 1992: “Citizen Gorodetsky visited citizen Schultz D.A., asked for a reward to return his wife and help with witchcraft. Warned of the consequences, Gorodetsky nevertheless agreed to the killing of the fetus in the womb of his wife Petrova Irina. Then Yegor repeated his question and, knowing the answer in advance, instantly decided to go over to the dark side. To Anton’s persuasion and arguments, he replied: “You bright people are no better, you are all lying and only pretending to be good.”
Looking at what was happening, Zabulon replied that this boy was destined to become the Great, but Anton himself made him the Great Dark! And nothing can be changed.
Fans of the Night Watch have every chance to change their nature and deal with internal contradictions. There is always a choice of the right side, but the main thing is not to be too late. In any case, the road to the light is more interesting and more reliable. Black stripes tend to change to white, and the sun shines on everyone the same.
