Brat

If you were in S.Petersburgh in the early nineties, you feel this movie has been able to grab a cubic meter of air of the city at that time, pack it, and give it to its viewers to breathe. The effect is physical. I can feel the smell of the wet dusty roads, the moulded no man's land of stairways in post soviet blocks of flats and much more. Apart from this high accuracy in physical sensation, the movie is multi-layered (you can watch in it a "boevik" action movie, a social analysis of the period, even a Dostoevki-like study on the value of brotherhood and after all, a unique picture of what Russia is, was, and will be. Those who can enjoy it in original will find some tasty bits of Russian irony and humor.

One thing that some other reviewers failed to comment on is the way that you discover just who Danila is - he covers-up the fact that he saw action in Chechnya and always says he served far from combat. This story is really about the Russian crime situation LESS than about an entire generation of people who served in Afghanistan and Chechnya ('94-'96 and '99-present). This movie will be misunderstood by many Westerners (I am Russian myself) because it does not fit the traditional Hollywood screenplay style - and its characters do not behave themselves like most Hollywood characters would in a crime drama. There is a very Slavic quality in this film that I am VERY happy to see preserved and NOT Westernized. (You must see Brat2 to learn more about Brat.)

I haven't seen a crime movie with action more realistic than that in Brat. This movie emphasizes that when you get shot you can't run as fast as a cheetah unlike the Hollywood films even today. It was a breakthrough picture for Russia's film-making and, in my opinion, a picture that could take on most of American movies of the same or similar genre. You wanna see the way things were done in Russia five years ago? You wanna see cruel reality? You want to see the real criminal side of Russia? See Brat. It isn't only an amazing movie because it is so realistic, the acting is awesome and you won't get bored for sure. Brat 10/10

Or LITTLE ODESSA meets PUSHER, if you mix up the topic and the style. That's the first time I watch a genuine Russian crime movie, film noir, and so well done. I won't add much to the other comments anyway better than mine. I like this film, so surprising too and with a terrific story telling.

This is a great movie with alot of violence. Throughout the movie there are long stretches of Danila making explosives, sawing off a shot gun, and fashioning weapons, with Nau music playing. The rest of the movie consists mainly of him using these weapons at his job as a hitman. Make no mistake, there is depth to this film. It is more than an excuse to show violence.

Danila is an interesting character. At the ame time he blows away people regularly with no remorse and little thought. Its his job, may as well do it well.

I watched this as part of a film series at college in the original Russian, and the group of Russians sitting behind me laughed at many points. The laughter confused me a bit, but the second time I saw it was pretty funny, and not in the usual one liner sense of action movies. I especially liked the part where Danila asks if he can copy the directorÕs Nau CD.

I highly recommend this film for people who either like random violence or can tolerate it for the sake of an interesting plot. The film has a distinctive feel to it.