From Russia with love comes a new fantasy epic of good versus evil. Nightwatch, a flawed yet engaging and, at times, even thrilling film, pits the Others of Light against the Others of Dark, with the fate of humanity hanging in the balance.

A long time ago, the magically gifted Others (not to be confused with the Others from Lost, or the Others from The Others) met on a bridge to fight. The Light and the Dark were evenly matched, so the leaders called a truce that has lasted to the present day. Some of the warriors of Light join the Nightwatch, which monitors the dark for violations of the truce. The Dark warriors have their Daywatch, which monitors the Light for the same violations.

Twelve years ago, one Anton Gorodetsky, played by Konstantin Khabensky, tried to hire a witch to get back his estranged wife, who had left him for another man. The witch informed him she was pregnant with a child that was not his and, unless the child was killed, she would forever be drawn away from him. Anton consents to the feticide and agrees to take the sin upon himself, but the ceremony is interrupted by the Nightwatch, who arrest the witch. They are surprised to discover, however, that they are in a sort of limbo dimension called The Gloom. Anton can see them. This results in Anton discovering that he is an Other and he chooses the Light.

In the present day, Anton is given the task of tracking down a child who is being illegally called by Dark Others. This calling is a special power that some Others have over humans, and the child is wandering through Moscow trying to get to the source. Anton must find him and stop the process, which has not been licensed. In the process of trying to find the child, Anton makes a startling discovery, which he cannot at first understand, but which is of grave importance for the Others on both sides.

Nightwatch, called Nochnoi Dozor in Russian, was the biggest blockbuster hit of all time in its native country. Based on a novel of the same name, it possesses a compelling story — going back to the Greek classics for some ideas for compelling plot points — and a very imaginative world. It suffers where many Russian films throughout history have suffered, at least in my opinion: it is a bit primitive.