Brother

1997 1h 36m RU

🙌

7.5

BANGER

★7.5TMDB · 505

CrimeDramaAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Danila goes to his successful brother, Victor, in Petersburg to start a new life. Unknown to Danila, Victor is a contract killer, but is in hiding after asking for too much money to assassinate a Chechen mob boss. To avoid exposure, Victor convinces Danila to kill the boss instead.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Sergei Bodrov Jr.
Danila Bagrov
Viktor Sukhorukov
Viktor Bagrov
Yuriy Kuznetsov
"German" Hoffman
Svetlana Pismichenko
Sveta
Mariya Zhukova
Kat
Sergey Murzin
"Krugli"
Irina Rakshina
Zinka
Igor Shibanov
Policeman

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Aleksei Balabanov
Writers: Aleksei Balabanov
Languages: Russian
Countries: Russia

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $1M — a 136.0× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

29 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Brother Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Aleksei Balabanov, shot by Sergey Astakhov. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Vyacheslav Butusov. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Marina Lipartiya shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Sergei Bodrov Jr. and Viktor Sukhorukov and Yuriy Kuznetsov carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Aleksei Balabanov directs. Sergey Astakhov behind the camera. Vyacheslav Butusov scores. Marina Lipartiya cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Russia. Dialogue in Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $1M — a 136.0× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
329 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Part of the "Brother Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Aleksei Balabanov, shot by Sergey Astakhov. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Vyacheslav Butusov. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Marina Lipartiya shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Sergei Bodrov Jr. and Viktor Sukhorukov and Yuriy Kuznetsov carry the top of the cast.
9IMDB entry: tt0118767 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.