Brother (1997)

Dunno about great, but it's definitely a DIFFERENT Russian movie. A demobilized conscript turned hitman on the backdrop of new capitalist Russia and the music "progressive-rock" group Nautilus Pompilius. Product of the war in Chechnya Danila Bogrov is a young man who knows how to kill and practically nothing else, his relations with people he does not have to kill are the most difficult ones for him. There is a lot of violence but it happens either outside the screen or almost outside, here Brat reminds me of Fireworks by Takeshi Kitano. Good Stanislavsky school of acting so visible in old Soveit movies in this one does not exist (save maybe Kuznetsov) but camerawork is rather impressive. I'm not sure I like this movie but definitely it does not suck.

Fmovies: 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.

We had a similar lawless period in Bulgaria (the closest satellite to ex-USSR), so I believe that the film is fully correct in this aspect. More important, however, is that of the thousands of films about crimes and criminals, only a few are more or less realistic; my work is closely related to the judicial system, so I know what I'm talking about. Even the real-crime TV shows lie somewhat, their cases carefully selected - always fully resolved, always black and white. For that, and for that alone, Brother deserves a 10/10.

Note that in Russia, "kavkazian" (caucasian) stands for immigrants from the southern ex-USSR republics, mostly muslims, a fair share of them involved in criminal activities.

Brother fmovies. This is a great Russian movie, made in a post-soviet Russia, which is looking for a new identity. It is new style Russian cinema, cheaply made due to lack of money, but therefore it has a very genuine feel of it. The story of Daniil that becomes more and more violent than his - already gruesome - brother, is very compelling and horrible at the same time. If you want to begin with a modern Russian movie, rent this one, it has that 'old ultra-violence' thing. It will definitely blow off your socks.

A fascinating look at the underworld of St. Petersburg, filled with excellent performances, especially by Sergei Bodrov III and Yuri Kutznetsov. I was swept away by the story and characters, thrown into their world. And there is no place else like St. Petersburg. I'd say it's a "must see."

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.