Black Russian

Timur Bekmambetov’s Night Watch should be an unholy mess.

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The first film of a trilogy (the third of which will be filmed in English), the murky Russian action flick depicts the endgame in a centuries-long struggle between supernatural, vampire-like beings called “Others.” The good but ethically compromised Night Watch keeps tabs on the unapologetically evil Day Watch until the rise of a potential Antichrist threatens the balance of power.

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With Moscow’s crumbling tenements and malfunctioning power stations as its backdrop, and shabby, hungover-looking Anton (Konstantin Khabensky) as the hero, Night Watch conveys a distinctly Russian world-weariness as the never-ending battle between Light and Darkness winds down. You can practically smell the boiled cabbage coming off the walls in an early scene when Anton consults with an elderly urban witch-woman.

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Frequently Bekmambetov substitutes hyperactive trick photography for narrative clarity, and you often wish he’d keep his camera still long enough for the audience to sort out all the prophesies about virgins, vortices and the end of the world. Fortunately, Night Watch shows sound instincts for pulpy archetypes and memorable images, such as the owl in Anton’s kitchen that transforms into a woman clad only in stray feathers. In the most imaginative sequence, a rivet pops off a malfunctioning airplane, careens through the sky, bounces on an apartment roof, tumbles down an air shaft and plops into the Nescafe of a young woman cursed to cause misfortunes around her.

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Doubtless as a means of keeping the attention of young American movie-goers, Night Watch’s English subtitles virtually have a life of their own, giving the dialogue special emphasis comparable to comic book sound effects. One vampire tells Anton, “You know what our hunger is,” and the word “hunger” turns from white to blood red. Neat-o.

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Night Watch may repel mainstream movie-goers but will appeal to the kinds of geeks and goths who support such elegantly eerie writers as Neil Gaiman or Clive Barker. Bekmambetov doesn’t really transcend B-movie action fare, but compared to the witless celebrations of big guns and leather in films like Underworld: Evolution, Night Watch serves a more bracing cocktail of vodka and viscera. Opens Fri., March 3. 3 stars