Enemy at the Gates DVD Review Page Two

One day Vassili and Danilov meet the attractive Sergeant Tania Chernova (Rachel Weisz), and we eventually learn that women served in combat positions in the Red Army during World War II. Both Vassili and Danilov fall in love with Tania, but Tania loves only Vassili. Later in the film there's a tender scene where Tania and Vassili lie in a room filled with Soviet soldiers sleeping fitfully because they all know that most of them will be killed the next day. Tania removes her glove and pushes her bare hand down inside the front of Vassili's trousers, and moments later they make love with the lower parts of their bodies covered by a blanket.

Meanwhile, the German high command has become painfully aware of Vassili and sends their top sharpshooter, Major Konig (Ed Harris), to kill him. Konig is an aristocratic Bavarian whose son died at the hands of the Russians at Stalingrad. When Konig arrives to carry out his mission, German General Paulus asks him, "How are you going to go about finding this young Russian?" "I'll fix it," answers Konig, "so that he is the one who finds me." This sets up the most involving part of the film as Vassili and Konig enter into a deadly cat-and-mouse game in bombed-out stores and factories.

Through Tania, Vassili befriends her neighbor, a young boy named Sacha (Gabriel Marshall-Thomson). Sacha quickly comes to idolize Vassili. But Sacha also works as a shoeshine boy, and one day he shines the boots of Major Konig. Thus, Sacha becomes the only direct link between Vassili and Konig, and Konig plies the boy with chocolate in the hope of getting information about his adversary. One day Konig asks Sacha about Vassili, "Is there a girl he loves in his village?" "Not in his village," answers Sacha. "Here!" "Does she love him?" Konig asks, and Sacha responds, "Yes, because he's handsome! Because he's brave! And she's very beautiful. I know her well. She's from my neighborhood... Later, the two of them will get married." But Sacha has put himself in grave danger because Konig now realizes that the boy's admiration for Vassili is so great that he won't betray him.

Quite a few twists and turns remain, but the movie goes on to show the tragic fate of young Sacha. We also see an unexpected act of heroism by Danilov and learn how the sniper duel between Vassili and Major Konig comes out. In a brief epilogue, we see the Soviets celebrating victory, and we find out a little more about what happened to Vassili and Tania. This is an old-fashioned picture where all the loose ends are neatly tidied up.

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