“Defiance” doesn’t try to answer one of the most frequently asked questions in regard with the Holocaust: “Why didn’t the Jews fight back? “ It just goes on to show some of them did resist persecution and murder heroically.

"There is this misperception that the Jews only went willingly to the slaughter," director Edward Zwick said in an interview. "And in fact, the new history and scholarship tells us that there was so much resistance. This is just one instance."

Unlike the majority of the WWII dramas, which would portray the Jews as victims, “Defiance” is one that has them bravely playing field.

Based on the 1993 book by Nechama Tec, “Defiance: The Bielski Partisans,” about a group of Jewish partisans, who form a wary alliance with Russian resistance fighters building a small society during the World War II in the Belarussian forests, beyond the reach of Nazi patrols, “Defiance” is the true story of a band of brothers Tuvia Bielski (Daniel Craid), along with Zus (Liev Schreiber) and Asael (Jamie Bell), who become resistance fighters leading the community to freedom.

The plot can be reduced to one early exchange of lines between a Red Army colonel and one of the brothers.

“Jews don't fight!" he sneers. 

“These Jews do!" Craig's flinty Bielski replies.

In between constant relocations and guerilla raids, ducking enemy gunfire, the brothers manage to emerge as community leaders, protecting everyone who joins their camp, welcoming even the urban sophisticates who had looked down on them in times of peace.

Offering shelter to all refugees, recruiting some as fighters and protecting women, the elderly and children, the Bielskis inevitably find themselves in a difficult situation. Zus believes sheltering women and weaker men (eventually more than 1,000) makes them easy targets while Tuvia sees a moral duty to take in all newcomers, which leads to disagreements and temporary separation.

The community evolves rapidly and as leaders, the Bielskis are faced with the constant need to find food for the people, get medicine and stay warm while pondering whether to launch guerrilla attacks on the Germans or stay out of their way.

Director Edward Zwick tried his best to show the audiences that the struggle they faced was not just about running away from the Germans, trying to survive in the woods, but also the threats from within caused by frustration, fear and lack of good judgment.

Armed with Slavic accents, the actors speak English most of the time and subtitled Russian to the Russians.

In addition to a good script and acting, the cinematography is amazing, and some of the scenes are truly memorable. Natural locations in the dense woods of Lithuania are awe-inspiring and beautifully autumnal before turning bitterly wintry.

Lead actors Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber deliver solid charismatic and committed performances while Craig, once again, proves that he’s so much more than the blond James Bond.