An opening to understanding

Rating: 9/10 (15 November 2012)

Many movies in America about World War 2 focus on the American struggles and battles which includes heart-breaking, gut-wrenching films such as Pearl Harbor, Saving Private Ryan, and Flags of Our Fathers that all do a great job of showing parts of the war that the U.S. troops went through. These films cover history from the start of the war (Pearl Harbor), up to the turning points in Europe (Saving Private Ryan) and the Pacific (Flags of Our Fathers). Those who are old enough to see these movies also have been taught in school about the horrors and struggles that American soldiers went through in this time, but not many know what happened for the Russians. If you are curious to see what it was like for the Russians in WW2, or just simply enjoy war movies, then I strongly recommend that you see Enemy at the Gates.
The film takes place at the Battle for Stalingrad where the German army is met by the citizens of Stahlingrad who mount a final resistance against the invaders. In the opening scenes, a political officer, Danilov (Joseph Fiennes), hides among the dead in a fountain at the square after scrambling for his life. To his surprise, he finds Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law) hiding amongst the bodies as well. Vassili quickly makes waste of several Germans as the two of them escape and become best friends. Danilov depicts Vassili to being a war hero through the newspaper as they print stories about Vassili's triumphs as a Russian sniper to inspire their comrades. In turn, the Germans send out their best sharpshooter, Major Konig (Ed Harris), to hunt down Vassili in order to crush the Russian hope. It turns into a showdown between the snipers throughout the movie as the two try to kill each other. Vassili and Danilov both fall in love with the beautiful soldier Tania (Rachel Weisz), but when Danilov becomes jealous of Vassili and Tania; he abandons Vassili in the struggle to defeat Major Konig. The film does a great job of showing how inhumane the Russians were at times along with how terrible the living conditions were for them. In the beginning of the movie, the Russian army launches an all-out attack on the awaiting Germans. It only turns into a massacre as Russian soldiers are shot by the Germans and by their own officers if they attempted to retreat. The special effects and gore in the scene do a great job of showing how awful it was for the soldiers as blood splattered from bullet holes and limbs flew through the air from bombs. Some Russian officers were forced to commit suicide after being out matched by the Germans. It's just so interesting to see what those men and women had to go through just within their own army, not to mention the fact that the Germans were trying to kill as well. In the movie, everyone speaks English in their normal voice and there are no Russian accents. At first people might say that it causes the movie to not be as effective because it's sort of far-fetched that everyone speaks English in Russia. This isn't the case. People don't feel alienated when they watch the movie because everyone in it speaks English and it makes the audience feel like they are a part of the movie which is what the point of the film is. This wouldn't be the same if all the characters had Russian accents.
In the end, what you get is a high quality, heart-wrenching film that leaves the viewer feeling all sorts of emotions throughout the movie. It really makes you understand and feel for the sacrifice that those men and women made to counteract German tyranny and it's a good counterpart to the other World War 2 movies because it helps us understand our allies in the war. I believe this movie is comparable to Saving Private Ryan and I would definitely rank it in the Top 5 war movies of all time.