The Living Daylights (1987)

The Living Daylights (1987) is a spy film, the fifteenth entry in the James Bond series by Eon Productions, and the first of two to feature Timothy Dalton as MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by John Glen, it is named after Ian Fleming’s short story and is loosely based on its plot. This was also the last film to use an Ian Fleming title until Casino Royale in 2006. Agent Bond’s mission is to assist KGB General Georgi Koskov in defecting from Czechoslovakia. During this operation, he unexpectedly encounters a female cellist from the orchestra who turns out to be a ‘protective’ sniper for Koskov. Despite his orders to eliminate her, Bond instead shoots her rifle away and successfully uses the Trans-Siberian Pipeline to transport Koskov across the border to safety. In his debriefing, Koskov reveals that the KGBs’ old policy of ‘smert’ shpionam’ (Death to Spies) has been revived under the new head of KGB, General Leonid Pushkin.

After Koskov’s abduction from the Bladen estate safe-house, it is assumed that he was taken back to Moscow. Bond is then tasked with finding and killing Pushkin in Tangier to prevent more agent deaths and escalating tensions between the Soviet Union and the West. This mission becomes personal for Bond when he discovers that the assassin who killed 004 also left a note with the same message, ‘Smiert Spionam’. In search of answers, Bond travels back to Bratislava where he meets Kara Milovy, a cellist. He learns that Koskov’s defection was all a ruse and that Kara is actually his girlfriend. Using his charm, Bond convinces Kara to join him in Vienna under the pretense of reuniting with Koskov.