Brother (1997)

An ex-soldier with a personal honor code enters the family crime business in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Director:

Aleksey Balabanov

Writer:

Aleksey Balabanov

Stars:

Sergey Bodrov, Viktor Sukhorukov, Svetlana Pismichenko

8 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sergey Bodrov	...	Danila Bagrov
Viktor Sukhorukov	...	Viktor Bagrov
Svetlana Pismichenko	...	Sveta
Mariya Zhukova	...	Kat
Yuriy Kuznetsov	...	German
Vyacheslav Butusov	...	Butusov
Irina Rakshina	...	Zinka
Sergey Murzin	...	Krugly
Anatoliy Zhuravlyov	...	Nervous Bandit
Igor Shibanov	...	Militiaman
Andrey Fedortsov	...	Styopa
Sergey Debizhev	...	Sergey Debizhev (as Sergey Debezhev)
Aleksei Sevostyanov
Rinat Ibragimov	...	(as Renat Ibragimov)
Vladimir Ermilov

Storyline

Newly discharged from the army, Danila goes to his older brother - a gangster and a killer - to start a new life in St. Petersburg where he's soon situated in the criminal world and asked to kill someone. There his new life starts. He meets new people, including a girl, and becomes a big fan of the rock band "Nautilus Pompillius," but now he is a killer, and realizing killing is easier for him than living makes him understand he is going the wrong way.

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Plot Keywords:

shot to death | older brother | drifter | gangster | ex soldier | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Russia]

Country:

Russia

Language:

Russian English French

Release Date:

8 July 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Brother

Filming Locations:

Smolensk Lutheran Cemetery, Vasilievsky Island, St. Petersburg, Russia

Company Credits

Production Co:

CTB Film Company, Gorky Film Studios, Roskomkino

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Knitted sweater, which was worn by Danila Bagrov, was bought by artist Nadezhda Vasilyeva at the flea market for 35-40 rubles (5$).

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Goofs

When the gangsters break into Danila's girlfriend's apartment, a crew member is visible in the room at the end of the hallway, even though the gangsters say that the apartment is empty.

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Quotes

Flunky: It wasn't the Tatar. That guy did everything first-class. A real pro. The Chechen kicked the bucket, and that guy just walked off. I winged him but the bitch greased Pinecone.

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Connections

Spoofed in Chyornyy frayer (1999)

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Soundtracks

Letuchiy Fregat
Written by Vyacheslav Butusov
Arranged by Yegor Belkin
Performed by Nastya Poleva (as Nastya)
Played on the rock concert tape that Danila watches

User Reviews

Russians!

You will be marinated in Russian-ness after watching this gritty crime drama shot in St. Petersburg. Set in the early 1990s after the fall of Soviet communism, it's a movie whose co-star is the place. The crime and gunplay in the foreground, which cropped up after the collapse of stern authority, seems to perfectly match what we see in the background -- trash-strewn streets, grimy flats, drug-fueled nightclubs. Everyone is poor or barely getting by. Even the gangsters, who you'd think would have some Scarface-type perks, seem to live in squalor.

One thing that will instantly strike you is how everyone in the movie looks like someone you know, not a Hollywood star. I want to call particular attention to Svetlana Pismichenko, the film's love interest, who plays the driver of a streetcar that hauls lumber (?). She's not pretty at all, but you see the love she is capable of and, all I can say is I wish she were my girlfriend. Her last scene is one of the most memorable portraits of heartbreak I have ever seen. She has incredible eyes.

Sergei Bodrov plays the lead, a soldier just back from Chechnya who is drawn into his brother's gangland activities. We never see a flashback of what happened over there and, when asked by others in the film what he did, grins and said he was a clerk in HQ. As we come to see the fearlessness and ruthlessness he is capable of, it is obvious he is lying. This man is steel tempered in a furnace. His gangster enemies are no match for a man with his willingness to prepare for and face death.

I've never been to Russia, but I lived in the Czech Republic for three years and I can testify to the authenticity of this movie's backdrop. When the Iron Curtain fell, it revealed decaying rust belt cities, but also a tough-minded population of attractive and spirited people who, somehow, found ways to be happy in tough times. I am American and half Polish, and this movie made me proud to be a Slav.

A scene in the movie is a homage to Russian good cheer. It is a party in a Russian flat where a few dozen people are chatting, eating, smoking pot, drinking vodka, singing along to a guitar, shooting pool and having fun. They're all young people in their 20's. You'll wish you were at that party.