Brother (1997)

A Brilliant Conflict

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

It is different, but not in a good way. Acting is not convincing, scenes of murders and punching are terribly done, like kids acting, even worse. Cuts are not very interesting, and scene will suddenly end slowly dimming into one second lasting black screen, I really don't understand artistic aspect of that, but it is rather annoying. I think that photography director did a good job here. Summary - interesting plot, not so well executed script, poor acting, good photography.

Many people have already stated why this movie is excellent, read through their reviews.This is far better than any Hollywood dribble, as almost always is.I can see why many Westerners don't understand the movie - things aren't fed to you quite as much as they are in Hollywood. You actually need to figure things out for yourself in this film. It's great for it if you actually have a brain.Definitely worth watching. Slightly violent, but worth it.If you can't speak any Russian, chances are you will miss a LOT of the innuendos and not understand a lot of this movie.If you read, most of the "bad" reviews have come from insecure pro-Hollywood people who aren't used to foreign films and people who can't speak the Russian language.

In what may have been Sergei Bodrov Jr's most famous role before his untimely death - he got killed in a landslide while filming a movie in 2002 - he plays an outcast from a small Russian town who moves to St. Petersburg, where he becomes a hit-man. "Brat" (the Russian word for brother) has some pretty ugly imagery, but nothing gratuitous. The scenes in which Danila goes to McDonald's represent his life: it's fast food, and he lives fast. The streetcar represents the fleeting nature of his love life. The scene where he washes his hands in the water suggests that he is washing away his sins (although he will probably never be able to fully escape his actions during his time in St. Pete).I certainly recommend this movie. Partially a look at conditions in post-Soviet Russia*, it pulls no punches. You'll likely want to avoid it if you're the squeamish type. There was a sequel, but it apparently wasn't worth seeing.*People in Moscow have told me that under Yeltsin, nothing worked right in Russia, and so they like that Putin and Medvedev at least fixed that aspect.

This film is a picture of 90s. Unlike latest post-Soviet never-ending dumb movies and serials about "brigades", "bratki" and the same garbage, "Brat" is more or less realistic. Of course, I mean the spirit of those times, not that everyone had gun and shot bad guys on the streets. The feeling of hopelessness and deadlock. Freaks, poverty, "new Russians", former intelligentsia who had to stand on the streets or markets and sell all kinds of things - all that really happened in 90s. And "Brother" reflects that quite true. Bodrov (R.I.P.) is right for his character. Also there is no romanticizing of criminals, no stupid "cop"-propaganda (we can see the both clichés in the above mentioned modern Russian potboilers)– just a piece of a contemporary's life even though it is obvious grotesque. Weak point: some episodes are too long.