The movie filmed in 2000 Brother-2 grabbed a lot of attention due to its consistency in acting, uniqueness in plot and visual effects mounted in post-production. The film director, Aleksei Balabanov, who in the beginning of his career mainly made art films, reached the highest peak of his reputation only when his crime movie Brother (1997) came out on screens. The film received a positive feedback and incessant demand from the audience, thus it was decided to shoot the sequel, which was not surprisingly called Brother-2 (2000). In both parts Danila Bagrov (Sergei Bodrov) plays a role of a former soldier, who despite his young age, is distinguished by professionalism and composure. In Brother-2 along with those qualities becoming more intensified, the sense of brotherhood and justice are added to the Danila's character. Visually, the director did not show all these qualities, since protagonist looks like a dummy with a lightly stupid facial expression. His hollow eyes and seldom smile shape him as not only someone who does not care about things that surround him but also as someone who does not even understand the world around him.
With the dull face, throughout the movie Danila twice asks important question that sounds like this: "What is the power in, brother?". He receives two answers that completely differ from each other. His brother Viktor Bagrov (Viktor Sukhorukov) finds power in money that circles around everything, allowing the rich to have all that they want. The Russian prostitute Merilin-Dasha (Dar'ia Iurgens), whom Danila meets in America, also reveals her thoughts about the power. She thinks that the power is in the hands of Afro-Americans because they have something primitive, something animal alike. This maybe because they tend to live naturally without showing off and throwing empty words, when unfortunately, Russian people can no longer be honest towards others. Danila himself believes that the truth is the power. Someone who does not deceive on others and plays a fair game is powerful. All these three statements have some truth in the eyes of the characters themselves and in the eyes of the audience, respectively. Viewers are lost, they do not know whom to believe and what to expect from the future. They are curious about the new 'country' that is being recreated out of the destroyed 'utopia', they are attempting to believe in something abstract like they believed in 'communism'. They are trying to find the truth in everything that surrounds them. Balabanov uses his privileges and gives people food for thought. He allows people to choose what power for them is and even come up with their own ideas. Since it seems that Danila asks his question "What is the power in, brother?" to the whole audience, not only to the movie characters.
Merilin-Dasha's hypothesis concerning the power appears to be reasonable when we take a look at the apparent scenes of a 'network' between characters in the movie. People who use that notion for the benefit of their well-being are no longer real, they act unnaturally so as to be liked or preferred by the person who is on the other side of this 'network'. Hence, using that efficacy of 'network', Kostia (Aleksandr D'iachenko), the friend of Danila, asks help from his chief Belkin (Sergei Makovetskii) in order to save his brother-hockey player from American businessman, who makes money on his defenseless twin. As Belkin has settled business plans with that American and does not want anybody to break that 'network', he commands his subordinates to 'deal' with Kostia. Misunderstood order ends with the friend of Danila's found killed at his apartment and starting from here the feeling for revenge for his brother stems at Danila's mind.
Moving to the political theme of the film, the scene when Danila takes a taxi to drive to Kostia's home in Moscow and the similar one where protagonist just arrived to New York impressed to be containing more political statements than the entire film itself. Both taxi drivers just talk without stopping about politics, media and general condition of Russia. It seems that ALL taxi drivers have the same persuasions and principles. The driver, that is from Moscow, was vehemently convinced that the country could not be saved from "goats and sheep" meaning both drivers and politicians, which flooded all roads and even got on television. Those who waddle in the media even manage to teach others how to live. A New York taxi driver claimed that "The Russian Idea, Dostoevsky, the Nation" disappeared together with Gorbachev, when he handed all of those to America. He obeyed Americans and in doing so was considered as a betrayer who failed to preserve 'utopia' in which Russian people believed so undoubtedly. What kind of "Russian idea" does the taxi driver mention in this movie? Did the Russians eventually succeed in finding their idea, their vocation? Since, in the Viktor Pelevin's novel Generation P this concept seems to be missing. Therefore, in order to find the "Russian idea", the author introduces the new character into the plot - Vovchik Malyi. He asks Tatarskii to come up with so called "Russian idea" for which people abroad will respect Russians. Eventually, Tatarskii could not conceive the distinctive aspect of the Russian people that could be presented as the idea of as Russians. As the novel was published in 1999, and the "Russian idea" was not in the plot, what can we say about it in the movie, which was filmed in 2000? Does it mean that the "Russian idea" suddenly appeared in between one year and then again was lost by Gorbachev? This is a big question, along with "What is the power in, brother?", that arises during this movie and demands an immediate answer, but no longer by me.