I can't say enough about how perfect this movie was made. It was like the director perfected every still with camera angles, "Matrix" effects, and rich colors. I had previously seen Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Hero and those movies seem like experiments that have led up to this perfection of a movie.
Two police officers are told that they have only a short time (I think it was 10 days) to catch or kill the leader of the Flying Daggers an apparent gang that is the enemy of "The General" (I assume he is like the military dictator of the province).
The boss policeman tells the other (Jin) one to pay a visit to a brothel and see if he can find any leads. Jin goes and is told by the madam that they have a new blind girl who has special talents, especially as a dancer. Jin is intrigued and asks to see this girl. It was told that the prior leader of the Flying Daggers had a blind daughter that disappeared. After the girl's performance in dancing, martial arts and swordsmanship, Jin and his boss think the girl may be the same blind girl that was the daughter of the Flying Dagger's leader. They arrest her and then threaten her with torture if she doesn't talk.
She is then rescued from her captivity by a masked Jin who helps her escape into the countryside. It turns out that Jin and his boss had the whole thing plotted, whereby Jin would win her confidence and she will lead him to the Flying Daggers.
The more time Jin spends with her, a romance slowly starts to develop, having Jin question what he needs to do and likewise for the girl. The romance is beautiful, and I put it up there with anything I have seen on film. Likewise the fight scenes are far better than either of the two previously mentioned films (there was no need for flying in this film which I hated about the other films). The kicks and punches look like they really land, unlike other films where you can see that they have really missed by six inches.
As the moods of the film change so do the colors and it seems like the seasons too. The movie has a few unresolved points at the end, so I hope it means a sequel will be made.