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Secondly, the story is not a consistent Christian metaphor. Night Watch does comes closer to depicting the realities of unseen spiritual warfare than lightweight popcorn flicks like Constantine (Keanu Reeves fighting demons with a cross-shaped shotgun). But Night Watch does not present a truly biblical clash between good and evil because of ambiguity about what makes good "good" and bad "bad."

Definitely NOT from the cast of 'Cats'

The Dark Others are said to have sprung from pure evil in the Earth's early days, and the Light Others appeared right after them to create a balance in the world and to stop them from preying on humans. In addition, Light General Gesser seems to be God (although weak and not all knowing) and Dark General Zavulon seems to be Satan. Thus, it seems like Night Watch is suggesting that the Dark ones are meant to be bad, and the Light ones are supposedly good. But the film doesn't draw a clear difference between Light and Dark; there's a very thin line between the two. Both sides are desperate for any power advantage. Both sides put human lives in danger, act savagely, and break the truce.

It's hard to tell if the filmmakers intentionally blurred the line. Because of the movie's complexity, the intended message is lost. The film could be meant to question our ideas of who is good and who is evil. It may just be an epic following popular story archetypes (like Arthurian legend). Or it could even have connections to the Russian-U.S. Cold War.

However, by not applying any real moral value to what makes Light different than Dark, the film implies there is no real value to either—and they are in fact inherently equal. This implication is supported by two story points: 1) The truce originated because Gesser realized both sides were equal and neither side would win, and 2) While the Dark forces are apparently the ones who prey on humans, the Light Others—and Gesser himself—at times seem pretty nonchalant about human lives.

Anton is just a reflection of his former self

As a result of the ambiguity, this is more anthropological study than values-based morality. In fact, being Light or Dark feels like little more than a label. Choosing which side to fight for seems to have about as much to do with morality as does choosing which sports team to root for. And that theme is well taken advantage of in Night Watch. Dark Others often question Light Others why they get to make the rules that govern the Dark Ones—but not the other way around. Light Others often trick Dark Others into breaking laws just to arrest them, and put human lives at risk to do so. At times, you can begin to think of the Dark Others as oppressed freedom fighters viewed as being "bad" or "inferior" when they are really no different than those holding them at bay. In the end, a central question seems to be: Why would someone choose one side over the other?

The film's true worldview on these discussions is not revealed clearly in this installment, and is even complicated by a surprising—but hauntingly understandable—decision by a central character in the thought-provoking climax. It's hard to tell where the series will take these discussions. While the film does keep Light and Dark pretty equal, the conclusion begins to show the deceptiveness and manipulation of the Dark forces. But does that mean the trilogy will be faith affirming? It's hard to tell.

The good news is that the films' created world—and especially the thought-provoking cliff-hanger conclusion—is intriguing enough to build hope that the trilogy's next two parts can make this a reverse Matrix saga: A series that becomes more and more clear and compelling as it goes forward.

1. How is Gesser similar to and different than God? How is Zavulon like Satan?
   
   
2. What do you think separates the Dark Others from the Light Others? How do you see the difference in the way they live? For instance, how is Anton different than his young vampire neighbor?
   
   

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