A famous duel between a young Russian shepherd and a German nobleman during the battle of Stalingrad in William Graig's book "Enemy at the Gates", fascinated screenwriter Alain Godard, who then approached filmmaker Jean-Jacques Annaud.

This was six years before filming began.

To get to the heart of the story, Annaud and Godard began a journey of research that took them to Stalingrad (now named Volgograd), where they were given access to the original files of Vassili Zaitsev, the young Russian shepherd.

The legend that grew up around Zaitsev is a dream come true for any writer and filmmaker: his duel with a German sniper, the existence of Major Konig, and his love affair with a female soldier.

Nearly sixty years after the Battle of Stalingrad, Zaitsev remains a national hero, whose skill and courage as a sniper are indisputable. His image dominates the giant bas-relief on the Memorial to the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad in Volgograd, his rifle is preserved in the city's Historical Museum, and the trophy of his victory - his German adversary's telescopic sight - is on display in the Armed Forces Museum in Moscow.

"Vassili was the perfect hero," says Annaud. "He became the focus of propaganda and was said to have fallen in love with a female soldier in his division. The character of Konig, the German sharpshooter, is also heavily described in Soviet propaganda."

With the duel at the core, Annaud and Godard created a story about a group of people whose lives are intertwined for a brief moment in history.

"We have taken a historical event and tried to understand what happened in the hearts of people who lived through it," says Annaud. "We know about some of these characters from the archives and newsreel footage; the rest is open to interpretation. This is what made this story so fascinating and appealing."

"Enemy at the Gates is a film about duels and duality, about contrasts and extremes. The event is minuscule, but the propaganda makes it extremely important. Two individuals track each other in the midst of millions who are dying, but the focus is on these two. The smallest part is only one little piece of the large canvas, but it consequently becomes the central symbol of the whole."

A major element of Enemy at the Gates is the love story between Vassili and Tania, a female soldier. The character is based on a real Tania, who fought as a soldier at Stalingrad and did, in fact fall in love with Vassili.

Waged in 1942 and 1943, the Battle for Stalingrad was one of the defining moments of World War II, and helped shape the political landscape for the rest of the 20th Century. It was one of the most disastrous military defeat in German history. Two entire armies - the Sixth and the Fourth Panzer - essentially disappeared.  An estimated 800, 000 Axis troops from Germany, Romania, Italy and Hungary, and untold numbers of anti-Communist Russians fighting on the German side had died. Approximately 1, 100, 000 Soviet soldiers lost their lives (many thousands executed by their own security police for supposed desertion or treason).

Enemy at the Gates stars a cast of seasoned stage actors:

Jude Law (who plays Vassili),  won the Theatre World Award and a Tony nomination for his role opposite Kathleen Turner in the Broadway play "I, discretions" - he also received the Ian Charleston Award for Outstanding Newcomer when the play moved to London.

Rachel Weisz (who plays Tania) received the London Drama Critics Award as Outstanding Newcomer for her role in Noel Coward's "Design For Living".

Joseph Fiennes (who plays Danilov), trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, spent three seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company and appeared in many West End productions.

Ed Harris (who plays Konig) is well known for his performances in many Broadway plays.