A big, "important" issue, a name leading man and lots of explosions - yes, we're in Edward Zwick territory again. In his follow-up to Blood Diamond Zwick has turned his attention to the little known story of Jewish resistance against the Nazis in 1940s Belarus. We are shown a true story (as far as Hollywood allows 
) of three brothers (Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell) who, following the massacre of their family hide from the Germans in the nearby woods. Little by little they start picking up more Jewish people who need protection and before they know it they have hundreds of mouths to feed.
The acting in the main is good, Craig excels here, simmering away but hinting at a lot beneath the surface: he has the most complicated role and does the most with what he has, it's a career-best turn. Schreiber as the competitive brother broods nicely and gives the best attempt at an accent of the three, but sadly Jamie Bell is out of place and barely does what is required of him. The supporting turns are all nicely played as the ensemble acquit themselves nicely.
The problem with the film if anything is the writing, some of the characterisation and plot development is two dimensional and at times the overt religious parallels overburden the story. At the beginning the film seems very in the camp of "collaberation = evil" as it appears to justify the brothers' actions against the local people but the longer the film goes the more questioning it gets about whether or not they'd fallen to the Nazis' level. There are also some completely pointless scenes in the native language and it is a massive conceit on the filmmakers' part to have these as there's no dramatic reason for them whatsoever. It is a very solid piece of filmmaking though, the cinematography and editing are interesting, the sound design is first rate and James Newton Howard's score is simultaneously lovely to listen to and complements the story nicely.
This could be considered a pretentious film, taking such a vital subject matter then turning into some hybrid of Come and See, The Pianist and Robin Hood but its heart is firmly in the right place, and it is a story that deserves to be told. Whether it deserves to be told in the way that it has been is another debate entirely though. As it stands this is a more than decent film, not without flaws, but with some fine performances, and one that I wouldn't see too many people not enjoying.