The first of a horror trilogy based on the novels of Sergei Lukyanenko (including Day Watch and Dusk Watch) Night Watch is an original twist on the theme of Underworld where two factions of supernatural ‘Others’, one Light and one Dark, co-exist unseen with mortals while locked in an eternal war with each other. Both the novels and now the first film have gained immense popularity and cult status in Lukyanenko’s native Russia where it enjoys the appeal of being set in a recognisably modern day Moscow as well as the distinction of being that country’s first horror fantasy.

Densely packed action, stunning visual effects and a complex storyline are the background for some equally complex characters, some weird supernatural creatures and a world reminiscent of Anne Rice and Joss Wheedon revved up to a break-neck pace. In this grimy contemporary Russia the wild, free Dark Ones are vampires, shape-shifters and witches living unrecognised alongside ordinary mortals. They are kept in check by the Light Ones, called Night Watch. 

The background of a centuries-old truce between the leaders of each side, designed to prevent wholesale slaughter, is given in epic style as the movie opens. The battle-scarred generals of the Light and Dark sides agree to co-exist with strict guidelines to maintain the balance. Meanwhile, an ancient prophecy predicts that one day an ‘Other’ will come to alter that balance forever.  

Closer to the present, in 1992 Moscow, Anton Gorodetsky (Konstantin Khabensky) goes to a witch to procure the miscarriage of his runaway girlfriend’s baby. She agrees on condition that he take the sin of killing the child on himself, and with a drop of his own blood in a downed shot of vodka he seals the deal. As she goes into convulsions on the floor two Night Watch shape-shifters arrive to prevent the distant girlfriend’s death. In the fact that he can see them, Anton is noted as an ‘Other’ awakening to his supernatural existence. 

With no alteration in pace the action shifts to the present. An increasingly pallid and underworldly Anton is dependent on the gruesome aid of his neighbour, a butcher’s son, for the blood that will keep him alive. The time of the prophecy is due and there is an ominous vortex surrounding a cursed, mysterious woman whom Anton glimpses on a packed Moscow train. The prophesied Other is in danger and must make up his own mind which side he will choose. Spectacular, high octane chases, fights and vampirish confrontations follow hard upon one another up to an unpredictable end. 

The complex texture of the story has much to do with the ambiguity of Anton’s allegiance and the questionable methods undertaken by the supposedly righteous Light Ones in keeping the Dark Ones under control. While the sub-plot of the cursed girl is somewhat antipathetic in its unfolding the final battle on the dark rooftops is satisfyingly tense and vinegary.