The sequel to the Russian hit Night Watch, Day Watch continues the story between the forces of Dark and Light. The second in a trilogy based on the books by Sergey Lukyanenko and Vladimir Vasilyev, Day Watch is an excellent follow-up by director Timur Bekmambetov. The story begins with a recap of what happened in the past and describes how the Chalk of Fate can re-write the past depending on how the user writes her/her wish. The main focus for Day Watch is obtaining the omnipotent Chalk of Fate and re-writing the past in ones favor.
Day Watch takes place a short time after the conclusion of Night Watch, in which our reluctant hero Anton, played by Konstantin Khabensky, has lost his son Yegor, played by Dima Martynov, to the Dark side through the manipulations of the conniving Zavulon, played by Viktor Verzhbitsky. In Night Watch, the young Yegor was revealed as a “Great Other”, one who could shift the balance of power, and change the world. In Day Watch the Light side has discovered a Great Other of their own, Anton’s novice Night Watch partner Sveta, played by Maria Poroshina. To make matters worse, Anton and Sveta have fallen in love with each other and that’s a no-no if you’re a member of the Night Watch.
Unfortunately for Anton, a Dark Other who happens to be the teacher of his son is murdered and he is being framed for it. Through Zavulon’s influence, the Dark will stop at nothing to bring him to justice, and he is forced to go to extraordinary lengths to prove his innocence. Zavulon is plotting to re-start the war between the Dark and Light forces and will go to great lengths to make sure it happens. Fortunately Anton is able to clear himself of the murder and use the Chalk of Fate to take a different path in life, one outside of the Dark and Light. Where this leaves the third movie is anyone’s guess, unless you’ve read the book, but you can be guaranteed it’ll be just as good as its predecessors.
Like in Night Watch, the subtitles became part of the storytelling in the movie. Words vibrate on the screen in tense moments. When a character shatters through a window, the text shoots in every direction like shards of glass. Instead of using the standard white or yellow that offset most color schemes, the subtitles are colored in what ever is appropriate for that sequence: red when discussing blood, blue when rain appears. It adds to the experience of watching the movie, but if you don’t like reading subtitles you can just watch the dubbed version.
Day Watch continues the story about the battle between good and evil, but it doesn’t shy away from illustrating the battle in each of the characters. All the main players show their Light and Dark sides. You can actually care for these people, even the bad guys. Day Watch will not be for everyone, but if you enjoyed Night Watch, you’ll be happy to see all the main characters back. And if you’re new to the world of the Others, then sit back and enjoy the ride.