Kara Milovy is a fictional cellist, the girlfriend of rogue Soviet General Georgi Koskov, and later James Bond’s love interest. The character is featured in the 1987 James Bond film The Living Daylights and is portrayed by British actress and former model Maryam d’Abo.
Biography
Kara first appears in the film when James Bond meets his colleague Saunders, head of section V, Vienna. Bond has been informed that General Georgi Koskov is willing to defect from the Soviet Union. As Koskov runs across the road to meet Bond, he spots a sniper, Kara. Defying his orders to kill her, Bond shoots the rifle out of her hands, only marginally injuring her. This prompts the line for which the film is named, “I must have scared the living daylights out of her.”
Convinced that Kara (who is Koskov’s girlfriend) is more of a victim than a proper assassin, Bond helps Kara escape from the KGB in Bratislava, gaining her trust by claiming to be sent by Koskov, and then he takes her to Austria; when Bond’s Aston Martin is destroyed during the escape, the two of them resort to sledding to the Austrian border in Kara’s cello case. Eventually, Kara contacts Koskov directly, and he leads his girlfriend to believe that Bond is a KGB agent using her to find him and kill him. On Koskov’s instructions, she drugs Bond to allow Koskov to capture him, but she soon realizes that Koskov has been deceiving her and switches back to Bond’s side.
Kara and Bond are taken to Afghanistan, where they team up with a Mujahideen group headed by Kamran Shah. Kara convinces Shah to help Bond by attacking a Soviet airbase. After boarding a C-130 plane Bond had hijacked, Kara allows him to pilot the plane carrying drugs while he battles the assassin Necros at the back. The film ends with Kara’s world tour (as a prize for her bravery, she’s been given a special visa which allows her to play around the world), where she is disappointed that Bond did not attend. Much to her surprise, she discovers him in her dressing room.
Personality
An attractive but sometimes naive young woman, Kara has no idea of the precarious nature and intentions of Koskov, a man she seems to hold in high regard and who is also her mentor. Despite this, she can also be fearless and brave. As she is willing to help Bond after learning how dangerous Koskov can be, thus; she does not know how to use a weapon; she has not hesitated to jump into action and risk her life to discover Koskov’s true face and put an end to his actions. Furthermore, her passion for classical music and her goal to travel the world make Kara an ambitious and talented person despite her initial lack of confidence. She is resourceful, and her abilities go far beyond mastering the cello.
