--Brother Interesting Russian movie. A big Hit over there. seemed dated to me and I guess it is being made in 1997. 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 (for example, as with the homeless Nemets), the disaffection of the Russian youth (as with the character Kat), and failing families (as with Sveta and her abusive husband) brought about in the aftermath of the Soviet collapse, which took place six years prior. Yet it exposes 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. As such it carries a powerful psychological message to the Russian audience that even in such gloomy times there is still hope. Its an ok movie for a Russian movie but no spark or intellect. Just Russian macho family stuff. Their lives seem so aimless. I enjoyed seeing the slice of Russian life but the film plot etc did nothing for me. I was barely entertained. 2 stars
March 31, 2009
