Enemy at the Gates

by bellabonk Sat Nov 24, 2007 6:48 am

Enemy at the Gates

Plot

Stalingrad, 1942. The German invasion of Russia
has reached the city of Stalingrad, reducing the city to rubble as the
Soviet and Nazi armies battle for the fate of Russia. Vasily Zaitsev (Jude Law), a poorly educated peasant from the Urals conscripted into the Red Army, manages to survive both a suicidal charge without a weapon into the front lines of the German attack and the NKVD
machine gunners shooting survivors who tried to flee. Acquiring a
rifle, Zaitsev — an expert marksman — manages to kill five German
officers in a row with the only five bullets he has, impressing a
witnessing political officer, Danilov (Joseph Fiennes).
Writing an account of Zaitsev's achievement in the military newspaper,
Danilov manages to inspire the broken, morale-sapped people of the Soviet Union to renew their efforts against the German invaders, and Zaitsev becomes a national hero and propaganda icon.
The bond between the two men is to be tested, as both have fallen in love with Tanya (Rachel Weisz), a Jewish citizen of the city who, inspired by Zaitsev, has joined the sniper division. Fearing the Soviet snipers and the demoralizing effect they are having on their own men, the Germans have sent for Major Erwin König (Ed Harris), the best sniper in the German military, to seek out and eliminate Zaitsev.

Synopsis

The story focuses on the exploits of Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law), a Ural peasant who was taught how to hunt and shoot by his grandfather, now fighting on the Eastern Front of World War II. A Red Army
volunteer, he is traveling in a train's cattle truck along with other
soldiers and civilians, where he manages to catch the eye of a young
woman (Rachel Weisz) before the train is converted into a military convoy headed for Stalingrad, a city that is now occupied by the German Army. Upon arriving on the city's outskirts, the soldiers attempt to cross the Volga
on unprotected river barges, bombarded by German dive bombers and
artillery, resulting in many casualties. When the survivors disembark
on the other side, only half of them are given rifles, while the rest -
among them Vasily - are given only a clip of ammunition. In a desperate
charge against German lines, the poorly-armed Russians are massacred
both by the enemy, and the soviet commissars who have been ordered to
shoot retreaters.
After the battle, a car races through the streets, under fire from a German panzer. Knocked off the road, one of the passengers - Danilov (Joseph Fiennes), a soviet political officer
- flees to the safety of a drained fountain and evades death amongst
the corpses. Here he meets Vasily, and witnesses with amazement as he
shoots down five nearby German officers with a single clip of his
rifle. Later, Nikita Khrushchev (Bob Hoskins)
arrives in Stalingrad to coordinate the city's defences. At an
officer's meeting he demands for suggestions to improve morale, and
Danilov comes forward with the idea of making heroes for the people to
idolize. Through propaganda, Vasily's exploits becomes national news,
and he is transferred from the regular forces to the Soviet sniper
service. As Zaitsev and his fellow snipers take their toll on the
German forces, he and Danilov — the author of the articles — become
firm friends. Vasili then learns that the girl he had seen on the train
(whose name is Tanya), has joined the Red Army as well.
Due to Zaitsev's infamy, and the immense casualties being inflicted by the Russian snipers, Major Erwin König (Ed Harris)
is deployed to Stalingrad to help counter this threat and boost German
morale. A renowned marksman himself, he immediately sets his sights on
killing Zaitsev.
The next day, Vasily and two other snipers are assigned to kill an
enemy sniper lurking in the Department Store sector, which he
dispatches with short order. When they go to retrieve the sniper's dog
tags, they discover that it was only a decoy. König, hiding in the
building, kills the other snipers while Zaitsev manages to escape in
the confusion caused by a German air raid. Upon learning that Major
König was sent to terminate Vasily, another sniper and former König
student named Koulikov (Ron Perlman)
is called upon to assist Vasily in fighting the Major. König's skill
and resourcefulness proves to be too much, however, and in a failed
plan to draw him out, Koulikov is killed himself, shaking Vasily's
spirits considerably.
Danilov has since recruited a double agent - a boy named Sacha Fillipov (Gabriel Marshall-Thomson),
a close fan of Vasily who has also managed to become close with König;
Sacha would give König false information about Vasily's whereabouts,
allowing Vasily opportunities to ambush him, but König's cunning would
keep him a step ahead of his enemies. The Major eventually learns of
Sacha's betrayal, and hangs him to enrage Vasily into another duel.
Running alongside the main plot is Vasily and Danilov's attraction
to Tanya, which causes underlying tension between the two men amidst
the chaotic atmosphere, especially when Tanya finally chooses Vasily as
her lover. This personal conflict comes to a head when Tanya is
presumed to be dead after being struck down by shrapnel. As Vasily and
Danilov hunt for König to avenge Sacha, Danilov laments his jealousy
for Vasily and his disenchantment with the Communist cause as a result.
Danilov then exposes himself in a final act of friendship, allowing
König to shoot him. König leaves his position to inspect the body, only
to be shot dead, clean through the eye, by Vasily.
Two months later, it is revealed that Stalingrad is liberated and
Zaitsev is reunited with Tanya, who was only wounded by her ordeal.

Main cast