Brother (1997)

3 Stars (out of 4)

Sibling Rivalry

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

The biggest hit in Russia last year was Alexei Balabanov's Brother, a cold-looking crime movie that is certainly interesting, even if it's also grim and humorless. Sergei Bodrov (an actor that could be the pin-up Brad Pitt of his homeland) visits his brother, who is working as a contract killer in St. Petersburg, and quickly and effortlessly slips into the lifestyle himself. The movie is laden with bits of the political landscape of Russia, and is punctuated by lots of cool Russian pop music. Brother opens at the Roxie for a week's run.

DVD Details: Kino's 2007 DVD comes with a small image gallery and optional subtitles. Image Entertainment released the film on DVD in 2002 with more extras, but it has gone out of print. See Kino's website for more details.