Spending your anniversary watching a war movie is not always the most romantic outing, yet my sweetheart and I had a wonderful evening watching Enemy at the Gates. The film begins with a small boy holding a rifle and watching a wolf in the snow-covered forests of the Ural Mountains. A man is narrating as the boy remains motionless, puts snow in his mouth so his breath won’t show in the air, and aims at the wolf as it stalks a tied-up horse.
This is the background information needed to understand why, in the fall of 1942, a young man in the Soviet army becomes one of the most famous snipers of World War II. In a style reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan, the beginning of the film shows the near decimation of the Soviet army by the Germans at Stalingrad. Most of the men are shown choosing between dying by German bullets, or by Soviet bullets as deserters. The violence is graphic, and, at times, seems gratuitous. I do not doubt, however, that the director was taking much artistic license; though, not ever being in a war, I cannot be sure.
The hero of Enemy at the Gates, Vassili Zaitsev—played very well by Jude Law—first shows his sniper skill when he takes out half a dozen German officers while hiding in a fountain filled with dead soldiers. There he meets Political Officer Danilov, played by Joseph Fiennes. Danilov immediately befriends the young hero, and writes about him in the Soviet war newspaper. He also takes a later opportunity to tell Commander Krushchev about Vassili, a move that turns Zaitsev into a national hero and Danilov’s pet project.
To make the plot more complicated, Vassili and Danilov both fall for the same Russian soldier, Tania. The film manages to combine a love story and a war story without making one feel secondary to the other. Even the sex scene is worked into the plot without seeming gratuitous or tacked on.
To further complicate matters, a German officer is brought from Berlin specifically to find and assassinate Vassili. Major Koenig, played by Ed Harris, knows everything about Vassili from reading the Soviet newspapers touting his many successes. The majority of the film involves the cat-and-mouse chase between Koenig and Zaitsev, and the developing romance between Vassili and Tania.
The only mild visual detraction of the film is the color scheme—earth tones. Imagine a cloudy late fall or winter day in a war-torn city populated mainly by German and Soviet soldiers—the color palette is not exact-ly expansive. Still, the scenes are very realistic, and the lack of color is warranted.
All the actors shine in Enemy at the Gates, even if the set didn’t. Although the accents are British or American, the performances do not suffer from it. For most of the movie you are left wondering if Danilov betrays Vassili out of jealousy for Tania, if Tania (who studied German in Moscow) is really a double agent, or if the young boy Sacha and his mother (Tania’s neighbors) are helping Vassili or Koenig. The performances are believable, as is the story, which is based on the real Zaitsev. Danilov seems to function in highs and lows, profiting off his friend’s fame, and sinking into depression when he loses the woman he loves. Even though it is not always clear if he is on Vassili’s side, Danilov never seems like the "bad guy." Koenig is smoothly played by Harris, and is definitely the "bad guy." He shrewdly interprets his target and patiently waits for his shot. He is cold, yet depicts a twinkling of a sense of honor in war and in defeat.
Overall, Enemy at the Gates is an excellent film and a good evening’s entertainment. The war scenes are graphic, but true enough to reality so as to offend only the extremely squeamish. The acting is excellent, and the plot is believable, with well-intertwined story lines. I would definitely recommend seeing Enemy at the Gates to anyone who is interested in war films; it is captivating, suspenseful, and historic. Enemy at the Gates is rated R for violence and sex scenes and is 131 minutes long.
