Hailed as Russia’s first blockbuster, Timur Bekmambetov’s Night Watch is considered to have marked Russia’s entry into the world of 21^st century film.

The film, which focuses on the ancient struggle between Light and Dark, capitalized on special effects and action sequences. It was so popular with American audiences that Bekmambetov was hired to direct the Hollywood film Wanted.

Night Watch is a low-budget (ringing in at $4.2 million), Russian action-fantasy film based on novels by Russian author Sergei Lukyanenko. Wanted is a high-budget (at $30 million) American action movie about a secret society of assassins. Both films fit right in with the Hollywood summer blockbuster crowd.

Both of the films relied heavily on special effects, stunts, and action scenes to entertain audiences without forcing them to think too much. Both scripts and plots were considered uninspiring by critics, with Entertainment Weekly’s Lisa Schwarzbaum going so far as to call Wanted “unintelligible and idiotic.” Despite this, critics found the film entertaining.

“[Wanted is] made for fans of films that really just want to see some great visuals, some amazing sequences, and some terrific performances,” said Richard Roeper of Ebert & Roeper.

The response to Night Watch was similar. Although the films lack substance, they were well-received by audiences. In Russia, Night Watch was heavily promoted, and the unofficial slogan for the film was “Our Answer to Hollywood.” This appeal to patriotism allowed Russian audiences to feel that, by supporting the film, they were helping Russia compete with Hollywood.

"I always felt a little embarrassed for Russian movies. ... It was like the Stone Age in terms of special effects and editing. This one? You can love it or not, but it's a very high-quality film," said Russian film critic Aleksei V. Prostyakov.

Many people felt that Night Watch was a complete departure from Soviet-era films. Instead of taking pride in Russian-style filmmaking and continuing the tradition, the film seemed to be an attempt to copy Hollywood films.

"Night Watch, in my opinion, was shit…I didn’t understand anything. The plot is not understandable…Everything flashes, shoots, blows up, and it is bad, stupid, inartistic,” said well-known Russian director Alexey Balabanov. “Even my little son, who visits all the premieres, said, ‘Daddy, this movie is very bad.’”

Hollywoodization may not be appreciated by Russian film purists, but this tactic never fails to entertain American audiences. Though the film was popular in the United States, the fact that the film was in Russian and required audiences to read subtitles made it less competitive.

20^th Century Fox, capitalizing on the success of Night Watch and taking advantage of the linguistic barriers presented by the original film, announced plans for a Westernized remake—“Westernized” meaning “with American actors speaking English.”

In the United States, audiences loved Night Watch for being Hollwoodesque. In Russia, audiences only loved it because of advertising and propaganda. As Balabanov said, “There is no advantage neither for art, nor for our industry.”