Night Watch 2004

Across the ages there have always been Others—humans with supernatural gifts—divided between the forces of Light and Dark. In medieval times a great clash erupts, but the two faction leaders, Geser and Zavulon, call a truce and set up policing forces to maintain it: the Night Watch for the Light and the Day Watch for the Dark. In the modern world, a fragile balance seems to hold until a dramatic turn of events in Moscow reveals just how thin the line between ordinary life and the supernatural can be.

In 1992 Moscow, Anton Gorodetsky visits a witch named Daria and asks her to perform a spell to bring back his wife, agreeing that she should miscarry their illegitimate child as part of the bargain. Just as the spell nears completion, two figures burst in, restrain Daria, and reveal that Anton is not merely human—he is an Other. The moment foreshadows a destiny larger than any personal grievance, a destiny that will stretch across years and battles between light and dark.

Twelve years pass, and Anton has joined the Night Watch, patrolling a tense Moscow where portents flicker on the city’s horizon. The Night Watch’s leader, Geser, warns that these signs are tied to an ancient prophecy about a extraordinarily powerful Other who could decide whether the balance tips toward the Dark. As Anton investigates these omens, he becomes entangled with Svetlana, a nurse whose life seems cursed by misfortune, and a elusive young boy named Yegor, who may hold the key to everything.

The film’s climax erupts with a storm threatening to level Moscow. Anton learns Svetlana is indeed an Other and begins guiding her in mastering her burgeoning power. Yet this discovery unravels another painful truth: Yegor is his own son, conceived during the failed spell when Anton wrongly suspected his wife’s lover of the father’s identity. The revelation that his own father might have tried to kill him before he was born intensifies the family’s loyalties and reshapes the prophecy’s meaning. As Yegor moves toward Zavulon, the Dark’s plan appears to be unfolding exactly as intended, and the confrontation between father and son—and between light and dark—reaches a fever pitch.

In a final, furious moment, Anton confronts Zavulon, delivering a decisive blow that unsettles the supposedly immutable prophecy. The city breathes as the storm subsides, and a voiceover makes clear that, even if the Dark’s victory seems near, Anton will not surrender. The film closes on a stubborn note of resolve: the fight is not over, and the night still holds a glimmer of hope for those who choose to stand against the darkness.