The horrors of war broken down to the lowest common denominator

Rating: 8/10 (16 March 2001)

Nameless bodies floating face down in the Volga River or boats blown to pieces from bombs dropped by Stukka dive bombers is war as we have sort of known it in films, but when it gets down to the cross hairs in a high powered sniper gun being fixed on a enemy that you could recognize in a police line up for example, is another matter. "Enemy at the Gates" puts the cross hairs directly on the mark. I'm a big Ed Harris fan and he is wonderful again as Nazi super sniper Major Koenig, but Jude Law takes the day as Russian hero Vassily Zaitsev. This film is stark and real almost to a fault, but in the end it is a battle of wills of two men. One is described as a Bavarian aristocrat and the other a farm boy from the Urals. Throw in a grand performance by Bob Hoskins as Nikita Krushchev and a generally wonderful cast and you got an "eight" out of ten. Since I reserve "10's" for perfection, I have yet to see such a thing. I rated "Saving Private Ryan" as a nine, so if the blood and guts of real war bother you, stay home, otherwise go see this one it is great.