Enemy at the Gates : War Through the Eyes of a Sniper

War movies have been with us forever.  Of those, not many of those have foucused on the world of the sniper.  What makes those soldiers tick?  How can they sit for hours on end, hidden away, looking for that one fatal strike?  What makes their hands so steady?  Basically, what makes them such good shots?  

Enemy at the Gates does not answer these questions exactly, but we do get inside the heads of two of the very best of these shadow soldiers in World War II.  The film focuses on the battle of Stalingrad, which was the turning point in the eastern front.  

Not only does the film deserve praise for its unique battlefield point of view, but for the location.  How many WWII films have focused on the the Soviet part of the war?  Not any that I can think of, despite the fact that it may have been more important than the western front(and far deadlier). 

The film opens with a short prologue focusing on a young boy trying to shoot a wolf.  We jump ahead to the Battle of Stalingrad and meet the same boy all grown up.  Vassili (Jude Law) in on a train headed for the front.  The soldiers debark the bus and are ferried over a river in a near suicidal move as the are bombed by the Germans.  

Once in Red Square the Soviets(who don't even have enough weapons) are sent on a charge to retake a city block.  These opening fifteen minutes is a pretty harrowing experience, nearly on par with Saving Private Ryan in intensity.  

The film then slows down a tad.  Danilov (Joseph Fiennes), a political officer sees Vassili pick off five Germans, hidden by the noise of shells going off.  The Russians are desperate for stories to boost morale, and Danilov has found his man.  As Vassili continues to pick off officers, his explots are glorified in propaganda pamphlets and on the radio.  Nikita Khruschev (Bob Hoskins) even meets with him.