Brat (1997)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Aleksey Balabanov

Writer:

Aleksey Balabanov (writer)

Release Date:

8 July 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Music

Plot:

Danila goes to his older brother to start a new life in Petersburg. His brother is a gangster and a killer...

Plot Keywords:

Street Life | Kicked In The Crotch | Mafia | Domestic Violence | Music Video

Awards:

7 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Sergei Bodrov Jr.	...	Danila Bagrov (as Sergei Bodrov)
Viktor Sukhorukov	...	Danila's Brother
Svetlana Pismichenko	...	Sveta
Mariya Zhukova	...	Cat
Yuri Kuznetsov	...	Nemets (The German)
Vyacheslav Butusov	...	Butusov
Irina Rakshina	...	Zinka
Sergei Murzin	...	Kruglyj
Anatoli Zhuravlyov	...	Nervous Bandit
Igor Shibanov	...	Militiaman
Andrey Fyodortsov	...	Styopa
Sergei Debizhev	...	Himself
Aleksei Sevostyanov
Renat Ibragimov
Vladimir Yermilov

Also Known As:

Брат (Russia)
Brother (USA)
The Brother (UK)

Runtime:

96 min | USA:99 min

Country:

Russia

Language:

Russian | English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:18 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Gorky Film Studios

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: 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.

Quotes:

Danila: [two chechens in tram refuse to pay the fare and act arrogantly. Danila takes out his revolver, walks up to chechens and points barrel at them] Pay the fine!
Chechen in tram car: Brother! Please don't kill me, bro! Take my money, take everything, just don't kill me!
[tries to give his wallet to Danila]
Danila: You're *not* my brother, black-assed scum!

Movie Connections:

Followed by Brat 2 (2000)

Soundtrack:

Mater bogov

A morally ambiguous hero much violence and a neat plot make for a great movie

This is a great movie with alot of violence. Throughout the movie there are long stretches of Danila making explosives, sawing off a shot gun, and fashioning weapons, with Nau music playing. The rest of the movie consists mainly of him using these weapons at his job as a hitman. Make no mistake, there is depth to this film. It is more than an excuse to show violence.

Danila is an interesting character. At the ame time he blows away people regularly with no remorse and little thought. Its his job, may as well do it well.

I watched this as part of a film series at college in the original Russian, and the group of Russians sitting behind me laughed at many points. The laughter confused me a bit, but the second time I saw it was pretty funny, and not in the usual one liner sense of action movies. I especially liked the part where Danila asks if he can copy the directorÕs Nau CD.

I highly recommend this film for people who either like random violence or can tolerate it for the sake of an interesting plot. The film has a distinctive feel to it.