Dueling brothers battle Nazis

Much of

Defiance

, an incredible-but-true World War II saga, takes place in the woodlands of Belarus, a setting as enchanted - and threatening - as one in a fairytale.

In this moss-carpeted wonderland of whispering pines (shot with emerald clarity by cinematographer Eduardo Serra), members of the Jewish Resistance build a forest sanctuary to defend themselves from slaughter by Nazis and their Fascist collaborators.

The architects of this thatched-roof compound are the battling Bielski brothers, Tuvia (Daniel Craig) and Zus (Liev Schreiber). Tuvia is an ever-patient peacemaker; Zus a headstrong warrior. The Bielski siblings personify the debate about nonviolence and violence that has raged at least since biblical times.

Astride a white stallion that might as well be Pegasus, Tuvia represents the we-shall-turn-our-swords-into-ploughshares cause. Training his rifle on collaborators responsible for the death of his parents, Zus is more the eye-for-an-eye type of guy. It is less Tuvia's and Zus' moral stances and more Craig's and Schreiber's magnetism that makes Defiance a rousing ride.

Disdaining violence except in self-defense, Tuvia presides over the encampment where as many as 1,200 Jews thrived and survived. While Tuvia coolly channels all energy into survival, Zus' blood boils with revenge. Frustrated under his brother's regime, Zus leaves the forest to join the Red Army and kill Nazis.

As directed by Ed Zwick (Glory, Blood Diamond), Defiance is a wobbly stool, a seat propped up by the uneven legs of ethics debate, Holocaust movie and action thriller. Still, the fascination and novelty of Nazi-killing Jews who don't perish in the death camps packs quite the wallop.

Based on the nonfiction chronicle of the same title by Nechama Tec, Defiance corrects the received picture of European Jews cowering under the boot heel of Hitlerism. Here, Jews are not victims of genocide, but victors in the organized resistance against it.

Screenwriter Clayton Frohman distills this reversal into the memorable bit of byplay between a Soviet officer encountering the armed Bielski brothers: "Jews don't fight," proclaims the dismissive Soviet; "These Jews do!" respond the Bielskis in a rallying cry that could be out of Friendly Persuasion, to name one of those movies where a pacifist Quaker takes up arms.

The stereotype-shattering film also notes that other social reversal: That it was uneducated peasants such as the Bielskis - not the men of learning - who safeguarded lives and were desired by well-born women who sought refuge from the Nazis in the forests of Belarus.

Defiance's few humorous passages are about the conflict between the Jews skilled with their hands, like the Bielskis, and those skilled with their heads, like the scholars played by Allan Corduner and Mark Feuerstein. Example: "What do you do?" asks eagle-eyed Zus of the bespectacled Isaac (Feuerstein). "I am an . . . intellectual," stammers Isaac. "This is a job?" laughs the amused Zus.

That the longish (two hours-plus) film rarely flags is because of the powerful performances of Craig, who resembles a craggy rock painted by a Cubist, and Schreiber a killer teddy bear sculpted by Jeff Koons. They reminded me of Lenny Bruce's definition of a tough guy - a man who can wear a wool suit without underwear. These guys look to be wearing wool underwear without the suit.

blogs/flickgrrl/.