Brother (EOTWS)

End Of The Week Shorts #47 extract: Brother (1997)

Brother is one of the most popular contemporary, Post-Soviet Russian films. It is a low-budget, skeletal film that uses resourcelessness and simplicity to its advantage by taking the crime-thriller/gangster film and stripping the story down to wanderings into violence. There is a sense of realism embedded into the film by the DIY aesthetic (this is quite iconic for the costumes; most of which were bought on flea-markets or were simply owned by the actors). And both the fleeting genre-isms and realism aid to characterise an anti-Travis Bickle. 

Stoic, immoral with a heart, and never angry, Danila seemingly finds peace in his specifically appointed nihilism, appearing as an entirely unpretentious vigilante who finds no inner-conflict in thankless self-sacrifice, ethical dilemmas and the generally dark way of life around him. Saying much, and very little, about Russia and its cinema in the 90s, Brother is not just a good watch, but also quite fascinating in a broader sense.