Undoubtedly the most realistic, immersed, counter U.S. point-of-view field recordings from Iraq to date yields a potent but unfulfilled potential for rattling the American cages of apathy that have become our hearts in this unrivaled personal war documentary. While standing simply on it's own documenting attributes, director/cinematographer Andrew Berends does in fact go above and beyond all previous barriers any western films covering the Iraq war posed to involve us in the past five years, and for that alone this is historic film-making. What Berends has done here essentially is put you in the very body of an Iraqi citizen/soldier, as we ride along in a most intimate manner, with the family and friends of one Ra'ad al-Azawi, killed by American bullets in a seemingly unjust manner. With unparalleled access, this filmmaker somehow manages to become one of the family, and sets out to document the rise of a fervent martyrdom-syndrome this all too familiar catalyst sets in motion. Unfortunately, some of the background and casual conversations revolving around it's central character, Ra'ad's younger brother Ibrahim, as translated, vastly undermines the stunning vibrancy of the harrowing action sequences. While admirably attempting to gain rare insight from covering Ibrahim's moral plight, the film clearly hits it's stride after the misleading first third sets up the situation and characters that play in this unshakably real event. Unsurpassed in it's access, Blood of My Brother works even better as a wake up call to our disengaged public then the nightmarish documentation of martyrdom it uncannily provides.