Night Watch: Synopsis

From Russia, with horror, comes the stylish fantasy horror film that has revolutionized post-Soviet cinema: NIGHT WATCH (NOCHNOI DOZOR). The film brings to the fore the cutting-edge vision of director/writer Timur Bekmambetov (whom Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov called “our Tarantino”) and is the first instalment of a trilogy based on the best-selling Russian sci-fi novels of Sergei Lukyanenko (which also include Day Watch and Dusk Watch). Featuring a dazzling mix of state-of-the-art visual effects, adrenaline-fuelled action sequences and nail-biting terror, NIGHT WATCH (NOCHNOI DOZOR) was an instant smash hit in its native Russia when it was released in July 2004 shattering all previous box office records. Made for a mere $4 million, the film surpassed both LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING and SPIDER-MAN 2 at the Russian box office. In a country that had not seen a native film make more than $2 million, NIGHT WATCH (NOCHNOI DOZOR) went on to gross eight times that number. Internationally acclaimed, it was also Russia’s contender for the 2004 foreign language Oscar.

Set in contemporary Moscow, NIGHT WATCH (NOCHNOI DOZOR) uncovers the other-world battle that upholds a 1000-year-old truce between the forces of Light and the forces of Darkness. For centuries, the undercover members of the Night Watch have policed the world’s Dark Ones –the vampires, witches, shape-shifters and sorcerers that wage treachery in the night -- while the Dark Ones have a Day Watch that in turn polices the forces of Light. The fate of humanity rests in this delicate balance between good and evil but that fate is in jeopardy...

Ancient prophecy foretells that one day a “Great One” will arrive who can end the apocalyptic battle between Light and Dark conclusively. That time has arrived in Moscow -- but which side will the Great One choose?

Sergei Lukyanenko’s novel Night Watch -- and its sequels Day Watch and Dusk Watch -- marked a watershed in Russian literature. The book’s story of supernatural battles breaking out on the frenetic, everyday streets of modern Moscow struck a resonant chord with a whole new crowd -- young Russian readers, fantasy fans and Internet users -- who turned them into instant hip, cult classics, selling 500,000 copies. Since the Russian release of the feature film of NIGHT WATCH (NOCHNOI DOZOR), the trilogy has gone on to sell another 2.5 million copies.