Star Wars: A Very Traditional Story

Star Wars, stripped of its futuristic setting, could well be a classical epic. It follows a very clear "Hero's Journey". Luke starts of in a fairly humble position, dreaming of adventure. He meets his mentor, Obi Wan Kenobi, and receives and receives a call to enter an unknown world of strange powers and events. Luke accepts the call to enter this strange world and must face tasks and trials, in his case fighting the Empire. His unquestionably good, and the Empire is unquestionably evil. He faces the challenge of facing Darth Vader, after which he is a fully fledged Jedi Knight. This victory allows him to ultimately triumph and also to learn an important fact about his identity (leaving out this spoiler just in case). It is in its essence a classical example of Joseph Campbell's monomyth.

This may seem slightly off topic in regards to the question, but it isn't. The take-away is that George Lucas was not introducing challenging narrative and philosophical concepts in his movie. Good is good. Bad is bad. Evil is evil. Lucas continues the same ideas of good and evil that have been around for centuries. The force is not a thing of balance. If the dark side is defeated no harm is done, all is good because good has triumphed in the world. It even has religious leanings. Analogies can be drawn between the temptation of the dark side and the temptation of biblical sin and evil.

Night Watch has a very different approach. Admittedly, there are aspects of the Hero's journey, but there are also marked differences. Anton his not necessarily a 'good' person. We first see him as willing to abort a baby in order to win his wife back. He is not a hero in the same way that Luke is hero. Good and evil is not so black and white as it is in Star Wars.

More, crucially Night Watch is about balance. It is shown in the prologue in the beginning of the film that if the two forces of good and evil, the forces of light and dark, were to fight to the finish, they would annihilate each other. Due to their opposing nature, they must co-exist in order to survive.

This contrast between clear cut good vs. evil and a more balanced view is very evident in the interactions of the characters of the two movies. There is nothing but all out war between the Jedi and the Sith, there is no possibility of discussion or some sort of ceasefire. Luke must either destroy Palpatine, join the dark side, or be destroyed himself. There is no fourth option. In Night Watch on the other hand Anton lives next to an 'evil' character, they co-exist. There is the possibility for a peaceful world in which both sides can be a part. Even if it does not meet fruition, there is the possibility.

Without a doubt, Night Watch adds a tremendous amount to our understanding of good and evil. It establishes that the two are not black and white, but rather shades of grey. It also, very differently from Star Wars, establishes the need for balance. It also has evil triumphing to a certain extent in the end, which contrasts with Lucas' more traditional view of the the need for ultimate triumph of good over evil. Essentially it offers a view that is more relatable to the real world around us.