Brothers by Blood certainly has a impressive ambitions and a lot of thematic weight with its attempts to explore the cycle of violence and the inability to process grief and loss. Unfortunately they are let down by the films overly restrained approach which drains the film of any pace, nuance or emotional heft.
However, it's not without a few positives. Matthias Schoenaerts quiet and understated presence is always a pleasure to watch even if he's played this role one too many times and it contrasts Joel Kinnaman's loud and threatening persona rather well. The music by Séverin Favriau is really beautiful and threatens to give the film some actual life.
