Brat

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.)

This film was a blockbuster hit in Russia, for many reasons that international viewers might not understand. "Brother" is a film that speaks directly to Russians (especially the urban population) about the time period directly following the fall of the Soviet Union. This was a lawless time, full of uncertainty about everything including whether your life would be ended by a random criminal on the street. It also suggests the Russian disillusionment with the Chechen War (well, the first one of the 1990s).

Balabanov has created an intense crime drama that attempts to answer Dostoyevsky's "eternal question": what does one do in a lawless society? Danila, the hero, has lost his innocence during the war in Chechnya. In this way he really represents all of Russia in that he has lost his heritage and his identity, and now must make his way in the new Russia. Like many others at the time, Danila turns to crime in order to survive.

The most heart-wrenching thing about "Brother" is that it has an incredible likeness to the reality of life in St. Petersburg in the early 1990s. Though on the surface it seems to be full of senseless violence, Danila's search for identity (that mirrors Russia's) calls for an honest picture of the hard life of the period.

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.

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

I really liked this movie. It was a gangster crime movie, but in a totally different style than most American films. There was a good story and great visuals of Russia. I liked the fact that not everything had to be explained to the audience. The director assumed that we were able to think for ourselves, i.e.; the lead character's 'true' past in the army. I don't believe that he was "just a clerk at HQ". I saw the DVD version, and watched the interview with the director. The film is even more amazing considering the shoestring budget. He got his friends to perform some of the acting roles as well as write and play the music (which was quite good). This is a great gritty film. Its one of the more watchable movies from Russia that I have seen. I gave it a 7 out of 10. I plan to see 'Prisoner of the Mountain' next, can't wait.