headlight help
 

I have an 07 mazda 6 that I bought a couple of years ago. The headlight output has always been bad. I know that the alignment mechanism on the right side is damaged so the light is more down and out instead of aimed more towards the center. I had xenon lights installed which helped a little. That set failed so I just had another set of xenons installed. Now, I can barely see anything. I feel like the light is scattered instead of producing a focused beam. As the pic shows, it looks more like a thin white line.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.maz...17ee0798e4.jpg
When I look inside of the headlight I can see a metal plate in the middle of it. I have no idea what it is.

Any suggestions? Besides trying to adjust the alignment, is there something else I can do myself? I'm trying to avoid spending a few hundred bucks on new headlight assemblies. I rarely drive at night and now I'd be afraid to.