The most frightening moment in a good sniper movie isn't necessarily when somebody pulls the trigger. It's the moment just before somebody moves.
You find yourself wanting to tell the guy to stay perfectly still. Don't raise your head. Don't look around. And whatever you do, don't assume the other guy isn't watching.
That's what makes Enemy at the Gates so good. I've seen plenty of movies featuring snipers, but I can't think of one that does a better job of showing what makes their particular kind of warfare so terrifying.
In fact, I think this may be the best sniper movie ever made.
The Most Dangerous Thing You Can Do Is Move
Enemy at the Gates takes place during the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942, when German and Soviet forces were fighting over a city that was rapidly being reduced to rubble.
And there is plenty of conventional warfare in this movie. Explosions, gunfire, enormous numbers of soldiers charging into battle, and some genuinely horrifying scenes showing just how expendable those soldiers could be.
But that's not what makes the movie special.
Jude Law plays Vassili Zaitsev, a Russian soldier whose extraordinary marksmanship attracts the attention of a political officer named Danilov, played by Joseph Fiennes. The Russians badly need a hero, and Danilov decides Vassili is going to be that hero.
Unfortunately, the Germans are paying attention, too.
They send their own expert sniper, Major König, played by Ed Harris, to eliminate him. And suddenly, in the middle of one of the largest battles of World War II, the movie becomes a contest between two men trying to kill each other.
What makes their confrontation so interesting is how little shooting is actually required to create suspense.
They're watching. Waiting. Trying to anticipate where the other man might be hiding. An abandoned building becomes a dangerous place to enter. A window becomes something you wouldn't dream of walking past. Even an apparently safe position might be exactly where the enemy wants you.
A single mistake could mean you're dead before you realize you've made it.
Jude Law and Ed Harris Are Outstanding
Jude Law is fantastic as Vassili. He's an exceptionally talented marksman, but Law never makes him seem like some invincible action hero who can casually dispatch anybody who gets in his way.
He's frightened, and understandably so. The better his reputation becomes, the more pressure he faces. Being celebrated as a national hero doesn't do much good when somebody equally talented has been sent specifically to kill you.
And then there's Ed Harris.
Harris has always been one of those actors who can dominate a scene without saying much of anything, and he's incredible here. His König is experienced, intelligent, methodical and almost unnervingly calm.
He doesn't need to act intimidating. You believe he's dangerous simply by watching him think.
That's a big part of why the movie works. You're not watching a talented young sniper fight some incompetent enemy who exists merely to be defeated. You're watching two exceptionally skilled men who know that the other guy is perfectly capable of killing them.
And both actors make you believe it.
The supporting cast is excellent, too. Rachel Weisz, Joseph Fiennes, Bob Hoskins and Ron Perlman all contribute to a movie that has quite a bit going on beyond the central confrontation. There are friendships, romantic complications, political maneuvering and the constant misery of a city being destroyed around its inhabitants.
But the movie is at its best when it returns to those two men and their rifles.
It's the Waiting That Gets You
Director Jean-Jacques Annaud understands something that a lot of action filmmakers seem to forget: suspense doesn't require constant action.
Sometimes it requires exactly the opposite.
The tension comes from not knowing what the other person is planning. Is he still there? Has he moved? Is that an opportunity, or is it a trap? Should you take the shot, or is somebody trying to make you reveal your position?
And perhaps the worst question of all: What if he's already figured out where you are?
There are plenty of war movies with bigger battles, more elaborate action sequences and spectacular explosions. There are also plenty of movies featuring remarkable shots made from extraordinary distances.
But Enemy at the Gates understands that the real skill of a sniper isn't simply being able to hit a target. It's having the patience, discipline and nerve to stay alive long enough to take the shot.
That's what separates this movie from the others for me.
You spend so much time worrying about somebody moving that when a rifle finally goes off, it's almost a relief.
Almost.
