Konstantin Khabensky Movies
- 2008
In traditional Soviet history books and popular opinion, early 20th century war admiral Aleksandr Kolchak (1874-1920), a crusader against the Bolsheviks, went down as a brutal, homicidal and nearly psychotic tyrant who massacred untoward numbers of people. But that interpretation gets dramatically rewritten by this lavish, sweeping chronicle, produced at the height of a resurgence in Russian nationalism during the early 21st century. Here, as played by Konstantin Khabensky, Kolchak emerges as an admirable and commendable battle hero. The tale opens in 1916, with the military man holding court as a fearless, iron-willed, cunning leader; his only overriding weakness seems to be slight and occasional infidelities to wife Sofia (Anna Kovalchuk). She tolerates this as well as she can, though in time Kolchak falls helplessly in love with another woman - Anna (Elizaveta Boyarskaya), the wife of officer Sergey Timirev (Vladislav Vetrov). As Kolchak struggles valiantly and courageously against the encroaching shadow of the Russian Revolution, both he and Anna realize that they will do literally anything to be together, and risk their lives and safety to make that happen - up through the point when Kolchak meets a tragic but respectable end fighting on the Siberian tundras. At the time of its release, this marked the most expensive film ever produced in Russia, with a budget of around $20 million. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Konstantin Khabensky, Elizaveta Boyarskaya, (more)
- 2008
- R
Night Watch director Timur Bekmambetov helms his first English-language feature film with this big-screen adaptation of Mark Millar's action-packed graphic novel. Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is a cube-dwelling hypochondriac whose uneventful life has become a mundane blur of terminal boredom. Repeatedly humiliated by his boss and constantly cuckolded by his cheating girlfriend, weakling Wes seems to be living right down to everyone's expectations that he would never amount to anything in life. However, upon discovering that the father he never knew has been brutally murdered, the spineless, clock-punching pushover is recruited into a secret society of assassins known as the Fraternity. During the course of his training, the man who was once an office-bound wimp develops lightning-fast reflexes and superhuman dexterity courtesy of his skilled mentor Fox (Angelina Jolie). Upon completing his training, Wes is assigned the task of dealing out death to the mythological Fates, who possess the ability to alter the lifelines of mortal men. It isn't long before the nebbish nerd-turned-agile assassin is erasing the bad guys with surprising efficiency, yet as Wes begins to carry the mantle passed down to him by his father, he gradually begins to suspect that his wise tutors are not the crime-fighting enforcers they present themselves to be. Now, with everything he ever wanted in life finally within his grasp, Wes is about to find out that the only thing more difficult than ending the lives of others is summoning the courage to take control of his own. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, (more)
- 2007
Georgian director Aleko Tsabadze's sweeping thriller The Russian Triangle commences in 1994 Chechnya with the homicide of two individuals - a pregnant woman and a university professor's daughter. The professor grows so distraught and is so driven around the bend by this act of filicide that he converts to militant Islam and swears vengeance against the responsible parties, wherever and however he might go about pinpointing them. The story then cuts to an unnamed Russian metropolis with a substantial underground mafia - a city reeling from a series of unsolved murders. Nikolai - a law student completing his education with an apprenticeship to the Russian police department - sets out to solve the serial murders, allegedly traceable to a blind killer; his quest causes him to stumble onto a clique of disgruntled citizens, irate over the Chechnyan War, who may or may not have direct ties to the homicides. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anatoliy Barchuk, Inna Belikova, (more)
The apocalyptic sci-fi thriller Day Watch (aka Dvevnoy Dozor, 2006) constitutes the second installment in a planned supernatural trilogy by Russian director Timur Bekmambetov. As preceded by 2004's blockbuster Night Watch and followed by Twilight Watch, this sophomore film picks up on the byzantine tale of a world where, centuries ago, the powers of light (representing goodness) and the powers of darkness (representing evil) called a truce. Each side set up a law-enforcement team to guard and monitor the other's activities -- the powers of darkness established and controlled the Day Watch, while the powers of light established and controlled the Night Watch. Day Watch opens in the 14th century, when Tamerlane, a Mongol warrior, acquires an implement called "The Chalk of Destiny," that can be used to guide the course of history. Eons later (in the present day), the Day Watch and the Night Watch are ongoing. Two Warriors of Light, Anton Gorodetsky (Konstantin Khabensky) and his protégé/partner-in-training, Svetlana (Maria Poroshina), quietly develop feelings for one another as they patrol the Night Watch together. As the story progresses, the pair must respond to a distress call from an octogenarian victim of a vampiric attack -- an attack committed (as it turns out) by Anton's 12-year-old son, Yegor (Dima Martynov) -- now a Warrior of Darkness. Anton must suddenly wrestle with two conflicting desires -- the need to protect his offspring by destroying incriminating evidence, and his own desire to remain loyal to the Night Watch. Several additional subplots then unfold concurrently, including that of Yegor learning to practice evil from his mentor, Zavulon (Viktor Verzhbitsky), that of Anton "body swapping" with associate Olga (Galina Tyunina), and that of the relationship between a vampiric child, Kostya (Aleksei Chadov), and his dad (Valery Zolotukhin), who works as a butcher. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Konstantin Khabensky, Maria Poroshina, (more)
- 2004
The Nika Award winner or Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Sound, Best Cinematography, and Best Screenplay, director Dimitri Meskhiyev's unforgiving war drama follows the plight of three German detention camp escapees who seek refuge in a small village while attempting to reveal the trader in their ranks. August, 1941: The Nazis are advancing on the Eastern front as three Russian soldiers seize an opportunity for escape. Former security officer Tolya (Sergei Garmash), Jewish politico Lifshits (Konstantin Khabensky), and sure shot sniper Mitya (Mikhail Evlanov) were being marched to a detention camp when they made a break from the group to try their luck in the countryside. What better place to seek shelter than on the property of Mitya's father Ivan (Bogdan Stupka)? It would have been the perfect plan, if it weren't for the fact that Ivan is a staunch anti-Soviet in collaboration with the German occupying forces. Unable to turn away his own son, Ivan reluctantly takes in the trio, only to incur the wrath of the local police captain (Fedor Bondarchuk), who promptly arrests Ivan's daughters and demands the soldiers' surrender as ransom. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bogdan Stupka, Konstantin Khabensky, (more)
Two bands of warriors, one good and one evil, battle to keep the peace in Moscow in this cat's cradle thriller from Russia. In 1342, the Warriors of Light (led by Gesser, Lord of Light) and the Warriors of Darkness (led by Zavulon, General of Darkness) declare a truce under which each side will form a law enforcement team to monitor the other side's activities. The Warriors of Light, who enforce the powers of good, patrol the Night Watch, while the Warriors of Darkness, who openly embrace evil, staff the Day Watch. Each watch group also contains "Others," mortals with supernatural powers from both sides that include vampires, shapeshifters, witches, and the like. Prophecy suggests that one day, a Great One will surface and permanently extinguish the threat of an apocalyptic war between the two sides by upsetting the balance, lending greater power to either good or evil (depending on his or her choice) and thus determining the future of mankind forever.
In 1992, Night Watch member and Warrior of Light Anton Gordesky (Konstantin Khabensky) discovers he's an "other" amid a sting on a witch. Cut to twelve years later. In 2004, Anton still works the Night Watch, but now he's a vampiric warrior who drinks blood. One night, while on patrol, he rescues a young boy named Egor (Dima Martinov) from a handful of Dark Warriors, but in the process, he encounters Svetlana (Maria Poroshina), a woman who acts as a "funnel" -- a conduit for the powers of evil. Anton reflects on the prophecy regarding "The Great One," and begins to suspect that Svetlana and Egor may be harbingers of this fateful event. As the first installment in a Russian trilogy, Night Watch (aka Nochnoj Dozor) was a massive box-office success in its native Russia, and is followed by the second installment, Day Watch; it was released in the U.S. with a heavy prologue and epilogue, and animated subtitles that alternately scuttle across the screen, dissolve, shudder, and explode.
20th Century Fox not only purchased United States distribution rights for the film, but also announced plans for a Westernized remake. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Konstantin Khabensky, Vladimir Menshov, (more)
