Enemy At The Gates is a bit different from the usual big-budget war movie: it doesn’t have Americans fighting in it. Without the Americans the film is without the usual chest-thumping obnoxious pride that clouds many war movies released in Hollywood. Enemy shows the other end of the front line in World War II, the war between the Germans and Russians which resulted in some of the most bloodiest battles of the war.

In World War II, the fall of Stalingrad will mean the collapse of the whole country. The Germans and Russians are fighting over every block, leaving only ruins behind. The Russian sniper Vassili Zaitsev (Law) stalks the Germans, taking them out one by one, thus hurting the morale of the German troops. The political officer Danilov (Fiennes) leads him on, publishing his efforts to give his countrymen some hope. But Vassili eventually start to feel that he can not live up to the expectations on him. He and Danilov fall in love with the same girl, Tanya Weisz), a female soldier. From Germany comes the master sniper König (Harris) to put an end to the extraordinary skilled Russian sniper.

What results is superb action sequences set to a back drop of war. The Battle of Stalingrad was fought on the streets and the movie depicts this street war very realistically. The characters fight amongst ruins of department stores, in back alleys, and in abandoned factories, things which are not scene in the usual American war movie. Also, Enemy At The Gates is told from the Russian’s perspective. The audience gets to see the effects of the war of the Russian people and we see why Vassilli is elevated to a status of hero; so he can bolster the morale of the people.

All in all, Enemy At The Gates is a great war movie and a refreshing pace from the usual American Flag waving war movies that are usually released. The showdowns between Law and Harris is like watching old western movies with cowboys trying to get the one and only shot in. Enemy shows a different perspective in war, that of a sniper with his methodical patience rather than the usual soldier’s running spray of gun fire.