Robert “Bob” McCall (Denzel Washington) is a retired Marine and former Defense Intelligence Agency operative who faked his death, after promising his now-deceased wife, Vivian, that he would leave his old life behind. For the last few decades, McCall has lived a quiet life in Boston working at a Home Mart hardware store, where he befriends many of his co-workers and helps one named Ralphie (Johnny Skourtis) pass his qualification exam to become a security guard. Unable to sleep, McCall spends some late nights reading in a 24/7 diner where he befriends Alina (Chloe Grace Moretz), a teenage prostitute working for the Russian mafia.The Equalizer 2014.
One night, Alina is hospitalized after being brutally beaten by her pimp, Slavi (David Meunier). Hearing of the beating, McCall visits Alina’s hospital room and speaks with her friend, Mandy (Haley Bennett). McCall visits Slavi and offers to pay $9,800 for Alina’s freedom. Slavi refuses, dismissing McCall as old and impotent. McCall then kills Slavi and four of his men with skillful close combat efficiency, using the men’s own weapons, various objects in the office, and his bare hands.Vladimir Pushkin (Vladimir Kulich), Slavi’s boss and a powerful Russian mafia kingpin, sends his enforcer, Teddy Rensen (Marton Csokas), to find and eliminate the culprit.
In the meantime, Ralphie withdraws his security guard application, and instead takes a second job with his mother at their family restaurant. When McCall learns that the restaurant was set on fire by corrupt policemen, Detectives Harris (Robert Wahlberg) and Gilly (Timothy John Smith), as an act of extortion, he confronts and beats the officers, forcing them to pay back all the money they have extorted by threatening to publicize their crimes from a video recording McCall made on his phone. Ralphie then returns to the store and passes his test, becoming a security guard at the store.