Brother (1997 Film)
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''Brother'' (russian: Брат,
translit. Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or ...
 ''Brat'') is a 1997 Russian
neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...
crime drama film In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
written and directed by
Aleksei Balabanov Aleksei Oktyabrinovich Balabanov (russian: Алeксeй Oктябpинoвич Балабанoв; 25 February 1959 – 18 May 2013) was a Russian film director, screenwriter, and producer, a member of European Film Academy. He started from c ...
. The film stars
Sergei Bodrov Jr. Sergei Sergeyevich Bodrov (russian: Сергей Сергеевич Бодров; December 27, 1971 – September 20, 2002), also known as Sergei Bodrov Jr., was a Russian actor who had lead roles in the films ''Brother'', ''Prisoner of the Mounta ...
as Danila Bagrov, a young ex-conscript who becomes embroiled with the
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
mob through his criminal older brother. It appeared in the
Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...
section at the
1997 Cannes Film Festival The 50th Cannes Film Festival was held from 7 to 18 May 1997 in film, 1997. The Palme d'Or was jointly awarded to ''Taste of Cherry, Ta'm e guilass'' by Abbas Kiarostami and ''The Eel (film), Unagi'' by Shohei Imamura. Jeanne Moreau was the mistre ...
. After its release on VHS in June 1997, ''Brother'' unexpectedly became one of the most commercially successful
Russian films A list of the most notable films produced in the Cinema of Russia. Russia, since beginning to produce films in the late 1890s, has experienced three political regimes; the Russian Empire, Pre-1917; the Soviet Union, 1917–1991; and the Russian Fe ...
of the 1990s and quickly rose to
cult film A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage ...
status throughout Russia. Due to the film's popularity and fan demand, a sequel, ''
Brother 2 ''Brother 2'' (russian: Брат 2, translit=Brat 2) is a 2000 Russian crime film. It is the sequel to the 1997 film ''Brother''. Much of it is set in Chicago. Plot The film opens with Danila Bagrov being interviewed on television with two fr ...
'', was released in 2000.


Plot

After Danila Bagrov (
Sergei Bodrov Jr. Sergei Sergeyevich Bodrov (russian: Сергей Сергеевич Бодров; December 27, 1971 – September 20, 2002), also known as Sergei Bodrov Jr., was a Russian actor who had lead roles in the films ''Brother'', ''Prisoner of the Mounta ...
), a recently discharged Chechen War veteran, gets into a fight with security guards, his mother insists he travels to
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
to seek out his successful older brother Viktor, whom his mother is confident will help him make a living. He does, and there he befriends Kat, an energetic drug addict, and "The German" Hoffman, a homeless street vendor whom Danila helps after a thug attempts to extort him. Unbeknown to their mother, Viktor is an accomplished hitman who goes by the street name "The Tatar" but is growing too independent and is starting to irritate his mob boss, Roundhead. His latest target is "The Chechen", a
Chechen mafia The Chechen Mafia ( ce, Нохчийн мафи, ''Noxçiyn mafi''; rus, Чеченская мафия, Chechenskaya mafiya) is one of the largest ethnic organized crime groups operating in the former Soviet Union next to established Russian mafi ...
boss who was recently released from prison and now runs a market. Roundhead, who is unhappy with the amount of money that Viktor demanded for the hit, orders his thugs to watch him in secret. Danila eventually meets up with Viktor. To avoid exposure, Viktor passes his assignment to his brother, gives him money to settle into the city, and then lies to him that the Chechen has been extorting from him, asking Danila to perform the hit, which he does. Roundhead's thugs spot and chase him, but he manages to escape by jumping into a freight tram, driven by a woman named Sveta. After Danila recovers, he decides to meet up with her, despite her being married to an abusive husband. With the money given to him by Viktor after the hit, he begins to enjoy Saint Petersburg, gives his provincial image a makeover and takes Sveta out to a concert of his favorite band
Nautilus Pompilius The chambered nautilus (''Nautilus pompilius''), also called the pearly nautilus, is the best-known species of nautilus. The shell, when cut away, reveals a lining of lustrous nacre and displays a nearly perfect equiangular spiral, although it ...
. At the same time he also meets up with Kat to go to a nightclub, smokes cannabis in an afterparty and sleeps with her afterwards. Meanwhile, Roundhead is angry about losing one of his men and the fact that Viktor used someone else to carry out the hit, and decides to draw him into a combined raid. Viktor, again suspecting a trap, passes the job to Danila once more. The two thugs raid the apartment, but their main target is away. While they wait, in an apartment on the floor above, a party is taking place. A young radio director, Stepan, mistakes the raided flat for the party flat and is almost killed by the thugs, who take him captive. Bored of the waiting, Danila decides to go to the party above and relaxes in the friendly musical atmosphere. Some time afterward, he comes back to find the thugs killed their primary target, and are about to do the same with Stepan, but Danila kills them and, with Stepan's help, drags the bodies to the
Smolensky Lutheran Cemetery The Smolenskoye Cemetery (in German ''Smolensker Friedhof'') is a Lutheran cemetery on Dekabristov Island in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is one of the largest and oldest non-orthodox cemeteries in the city. Until the early 20th century it was one ...
, where Hoffman helps dispose of them. Roundhead, furious finding out what happened, decides to track Danila and intercepts Sveta's tram. They later raid her apartment, where his men beat and rape her, and learn his phone number, as well as his address. A henchman nicknamed "Mole" ambushes Danila near his apartment building, but Danila manages to kill him. Realizing that staying home is unsafe, he travels to Sveta's house and is shocked at her state. He learns that Roundhead was responsible and realizes that the only way they could have tracked her was when he returned a phone call from her home telephone to his brother. At the same time, Roundhead raids Viktor's apartment and forces him to call Danila at gunpoint, urging him to come over. Realizing the depth of the situation, Danila goes back to the communal room that he was renting, and buys a shotgun from his landlord. At Viktor's apartment, he takes out Roundhead and two of his henchmen and tells the surviving thug to warn the rest of the gang that he will kill anyone who hurts his brother. Danila forgives Viktor and gives him some of the money from Roundhead's suitcase, telling him to return home and to work for the
militsiya ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, , mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə) was the name of the police forces in the Soviet Union (until 1991) and in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), as well as in the non-aligned SFR Yugoslavia (1945–1992). The ...
. Before leaving for Moscow, he visits Sveta, and upon finding her husband beating her, he shoots him in his leg before leaving. He then says goodbye to Hoffman and Kat, before hitching a ride to
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
on a passing truck.


Cast

*
Sergei Bodrov Jr. Sergei Sergeyevich Bodrov (russian: Сергей Сергеевич Бодров; December 27, 1971 – September 20, 2002), also known as Sergei Bodrov Jr., was a Russian actor who had lead roles in the films ''Brother'', ''Prisoner of the Mounta ...
– Danila Bagrov *
Viktor Sukhorukov Viktor Ivanovich Sukhorukov PAR (russian: Виктор Иванович Сухоруков; born 10 November 1951) is a Russian actor. He has appeared in more than 50 films and television shows since 1974. He starred in ''Happy Days'' (1991), w ...
– Viktor Bagrov (voiced by
Aleksei Poluyan Aleksei Poluyan (russian: Алексей Полуян; 1965–2010) was a Russian actor. His most famous role was that of the sadistic Captain Zhurov in Alexey Balabanov's anti-communist horror movie Horror is a film genre that seeks to el ...
) * Svetlana Pismichenko – Sveta * Maria Zhukova – Kat * Yury Kuznetsov – "The German" Hoffman * Irina Rakshina – Zinka * Sergei Murzin – Roundhead (voiced by Aleksandr Stroev) * Andrey Fyodortsov – Stepan * Igor Shibanov – Militiaman *
Andrey Krasko Andrey Ivanovich Krasko (russian: Андре́й Ива́нович Краско́; 10 August 1957, Leningrad, USSR — 4 July 2006, Odessa, Ukraine) was a Russian theatre and cinema actor. Andrey Krasko first experienced theatrical production as ...
– Owner of the raided apartment *
Aleksei Poluyan Aleksei Poluyan (russian: Алексей Полуян; 1965–2010) was a Russian actor. His most famous role was that of the sadistic Captain Zhurov in Alexey Balabanov's anti-communist horror movie Horror is a film genre that seeks to el ...
– "Mole" the bandit *
Igor Lifanov Igor Romanovich Lifanov (russian: И́горь Рома́нович Лифа́нов; born 25 December 1965) is Russian actor of theater, cinema and TV. Biography Igor Lifanov born December 25, 1965, in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, ...
– One of Roundhead's bandits (voiced by
Aleksandr Bashirov Alexander Nikolaevich Bashirov (russian: Александр Николаевич Баширов; born 24 September 1955, in Sogom) is a Russian film and theater actor, director and screenwriter. He performed in more than sixty films since 1986. ...
) *Tatiana Zakharova – Danila's and Viktor's mother (voiced by
Nina Usatova Nina Nikolayevna Usatova (russian: Ни́на Никола́евна Уса́това; born October 1, 1951, Altai Krai) is a Soviet and Russian film and stage actress. People's Artist of Russia (1994). Biography She graduated from high school n ...
) *Sergei Debizhev – Music video director (voiced by
Valery Kukhareshin Valery Aleksandrovich Kukhareshin (russian: link=no, Валерий Александрович Кухаре́шин; born 7 December 1957) is a Soviet and Russian stage, film and dubbing actor. Merited Artist of the Russian Federation (1994), P ...
) *Konstantin Anisimov – Music video security guard (voiced by Viktor Bychkov) *Anatoly Gorin – Sveta's roommate (voiced by Viktor Bychkov) The film also features brief appearances from several Russian rock musicians: *
Vyacheslav Butusov Vyacheslav Gennadievich Butusov (russian: link=no, Вячеслав Геннадьевич Бутусов; born 15 October 1961) is a Russian singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of Nautilus Pompilius and U-Piter. Since 2019, he has been ...
, as well as other members of
Nautilus Pompilius The chambered nautilus (''Nautilus pompilius''), also called the pearly nautilus, is the best-known species of nautilus. The shell, when cut away, reveals a lining of lustrous nacre and displays a nearly perfect equiangular spiral, although it ...
*
Sergey Chigrakov Sergey Nikolayevich "Chizh" Chigrakov (russian: Серге́й Николаевич Чиграков; born 6 February 1961 in Dzerzhinsk) is a Russian rock performer and songwriter. Most of his current songs are recorded with his band, Chizh & Co ...
* Nastya Poleva * Band members of
Aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...
* Band members of Kolibri


Production crew

*
Aleksei Balabanov Aleksei Oktyabrinovich Balabanov (russian: Алeксeй Oктябpинoвич Балабанoв; 25 February 1959 – 18 May 2013) was a Russian film director, screenwriter, and producer, a member of European Film Academy. He started from c ...
– director, screenwriter * Sergei Astakhov – camera operator *
Vladimir Kartashov Vladimir Yurievich Kartashov (russian: Владимир Юрьевич Карташов; 20 June 1957 – 20 September 2002) was a Russian artist and award-winning production designer. He was a twin brother of poet and artist Alexander Kartashov. ...
– production designer * Nadezhda Vasilyeva – costumer *
Vyacheslav Butusov Vyacheslav Gennadievich Butusov (russian: link=no, Вячеслав Геннадьевич Бутусов; born 15 October 1961) is a Russian singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of Nautilus Pompilius and U-Piter. Since 2019, he has been ...
– composer * Sergei Selyanov – producer


Release

''Brother'' was selected for screening at a number of Russian and international film festivals, where it won many awards. The festivals include, among others: *
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
, ''
Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...
'' *
Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...
*Sozvezdie *
Torino International Film Festival The Torino Film Festival (also called the Turin Film Festival, TFF) is an international film festival held annually in Turin, Italy. Held every November, it is the second largest film festival in Italy, following the Venice Film Festival. It was f ...
* Trieste International Film Festival The film was released on VHS in June 1997 and premiered on television on 12 December 1997.


Reception

The film became an instant hit, and raised the fortunes of both Sergey Bodrov and director Aleksei Balabanov. The story's depiction revolves around the problems and attitudes of the 1990s Russia: crime, poverty (in face of the homeless Hoffman), the disaffection of the Russian youth (as with the character Kat), failing families (as with Sveta and her abusive husband) and of course, betrayal and hypocrisy even towards the most closest of relatives (such as Viktor first using Danila as cover, and then turning him over). All this was brought about in the aftermath of the Soviet collapse, which took place only six years prior. Yet, despite such negative connotation amid the social decay, it illustrates that there is still courage and good in the face of Danila, who is portrayed as having an acute sense of right and wrong, and appears to follow some semblance of a
moral code Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...
. As such it carries a powerful psychological message to the Russian audience that even in such gloomy times there is still hope.


Critical response

''Brother'' has an approval rating of 100% on
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, based on 5 reviews, and an average rating of 7.63/10.


Sequel

Following the film's success, Balabanov initially planned on making a ''Brother'' trilogy: the second instalment was to take place in Moscow and the third in
America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. During the writing phase, however, he abandoned this idea and combined the second and third parts into a single sequel instead. ''Brother 2'' is notable for having a significantly higher budget, placing more emphasis on action sequences, and being set in Moscow and
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
.


Music


Track listing


Legacy

In the 2018 music video for her song "90", the Russian singer-songwriter
Monetochka Monetochka () is the stage name of Elizaveta Andreevna Gyrdymova (, born 1 June 1998), a Russian singer-songwriter. Biography Gyrdymova was born on 1 June 1998 in Yekaterinburg. From childhood, Gyrdymova enjoyed writing poetry and published he ...
reenacts scenes from ''Brother''.


Literature

* * *


References


External links


Brother
a
Russian Film Hub
* * {{Aleksei Balabanov 1997 films 1997 crime drama films 1990s crime action films Russian crime drama films 1990s Russian-language films Films about brothers Films about the Russian Mafia Films directed by Aleksei Balabanov Films set in 1996 Films set in Saint Petersburg Films shot in Saint Petersburg Neo-noir