Brigada

I have never watched Russian TV series before as I expected them to be stupid and boring. But 'Brigada' was so extremely popular among my friends and so much talked about in the newspapers and magazines, so I decided not to miss it. And I wasn't disappointed at all. Many people said that 'Brigada' makes youngsters like criminals and gangsters and fight against the militia. They said that in this series militia men look much more criminal than the criminals themselves! But unfortunately it is the regrettable truth of Russian life nowadays. That's why audience didn't judge the guys – Sasha, Phyl, Kosmos and Pchela – too harshly. They were the victims of the circumstances. About the movie itself. I liked the soundtrack very much. ('Brigada' ringtone was extremely popular among the people of all ages.) The actors' performance was great, sometimes brilliant. I especially liked Sergey Bezrukov and Vladimir Vdovichenkov. Dmitry Dyuzhev was excellent, but on my opinion he's doing his best job acting in 'Twelfth Night' – the play by Shakespeare staged in Pushkin's theatre. His performance is so funny and wonderful that everybody can't help laughing. Katya Guseva is the most beautiful woman on the screen. Andrey Panin is a splendid villain! His character is so disgusting that I wanted to throw something heavy at his head every time I saw him. To sum up, the movie is well-written, well-directed and well-played. I'm very surprised (and pleased) that not only in Russia people watch and like it. Hope some new great movies and TV-series will come soon. For instance, 'Zvezdochet' (Astrologer) starring the same Vdovichenkov and handsome Strahov. Looking forward to watching it! 9 out of 10 – and my applause - to 'Brigada'.

I think"Brigada" is one of the best shows I have seen on TV in last few years.I have watched it twice,the crew,music,idea everything I like when it comes to mafia stories.Also I can understand how can bad subtitles spoil a good story,but that wasn't my problem and my friends(Russian is very similar to Serbian).My only hope is that there will be more shows like"Brigada"to come from Russia(Hollywood is having problem with stories that have already been told)I love the passion and dedication of actors,which you can not see in Hollywood production.

PS(I have told everyone I know about how excellent"Brigada"is and now all my friend are fascinated with Sergei Bezrukov)

The movie is extremely realistic of what happened in Russia in 1989 - 2000 - actually it just shows the top of the iceberg, but it shows enough to imagine what is beneath. "Brigada" is a great story about 4 friends that remains friends in spite of all that happened. May be you can named it the Russian 'Godfather' movie. It is exactly so great. Actors are great performers. Sounds are great. Surroundings and details till the time span shown - 11 years - are true and absolutely realistic. I couldn't find any weak point in all movie. There is a lot of persons in the movie with their own destiny shown but not in a helter-skelter way or heaviness - rather you can feel with all your being the atmosphere in Russia in these years of changes and the Russian's feelings and spirit.

And in the end - the movie is so well done that on many occasions you just wonder - to cry or to laugh. It is for sure one of the best movies I saw in the last years.

You know, I remember the time when all the kids were trying to look and act like Sasha Bely and his fellows. There were different bands in the streets, who called themselves "Brigada" and they thought that they were cool. It was hysteria and obsession. But it proves the great influence this movie can have on you.

Actually, it happened for real. All this Russian mafia, brutality, numerous crimes really took place when the era of Soviet Union was coming to its final. The only drawback of the movie that Sasha Bely and his band seem to be heroes, but in fact they were just criminals. Though it's a film, isn't it?

Those who do not like criminal dramas can find there a wonderful story of friendship and love, and excellent playing. Actors have done a wonderful job. So enjoy the movie!

This is truly the greatest modern film about mafia! It is so realistic! Anybody who lived in Russia in the 1990s will tell you that this movie brilliantly reflects the social reality of that time period. At the same time the movie has an exciting and gripping plot that literally glues you to the television in a way few movies ever do. You are literally sitting at the edge of of your seat throughout the entire film. Personally, I think this movie is even better than the Godfather series.

All the negative comments speak about how this movie is "immoral" and give that as THE reason for giving the movie a low score. But this is simply not true! Yes, the protagonists of the movie are mafiosos. But they are no more romanticized then the protagonists of Godfather were. No one gives the Godfather series a low rating just on those grounds? I think it's just that because this movie was so popular in Russia and a lot of kids/teenagers watched it and started fantasizing about becoming mafia gangsters. And some parents got very upset about it. That is the only reason for giving a lower rating to this movie! Those parents just needed to keep the children away from the TV. This movie is not for kids anyway.