The film "Brother", released in 1997, became a cult. Quotes from this picture, as well as from its continuation, turned into catchphrases. Danila Bagrov became a real "hero of our time." What is the uniqueness of the talent possessed by the director of the film "Brother"? Why did his picture win all-Russian love and does not lose popularity even today, almost twenty years after the premiere?
Alexey Balabanov: brief biographical information
The director of the film "Brother" graduated from the Faculty of Foreign Languages. After graduating from the Pedagogical Institute, he served in the military. He became a member of the Afghan war, which subsequently inspired him to create the painting "Cargo 200".
The director of the film "Brother" began his career in Sverdlovsk. Since 1990, he lived in St. Petersburg, where before creating a picture that brought him all-Russian fame, he shot two short films. After the release of the films “Brother”, the leading actor, Sergey Bodrov, became known.
Criticism
The creation of a dilogy about Danil Bagrov was a kind of creative breakthrough for Alexei Balabanov. According to critics, the protagonist in these films is a true hero of post-Soviet cinema. The director of the film "Brother" created completely new images. His heroes are people who find themselves on the sidelines of social life. These are outsiders who are in search of harmony. According to Andrei Konchalovsky, the director of the film "Brother" was the most talented Russian cinematographer in the early 2000s. One of the critics noted that the main theme of Balabanov’s work is the search for morality, which makes him related to Dostoevsky.
The film "Brother"
Director Balabanov created the picture, the hero of which Russian society needed. Why has this movie become so popular? The success of "Brother-2" can be explained by the calculation of the creators. As for the film, which was released in 1997, the audience, although they appreciated its philosophical content, nevertheless fell in love with the picture primarily thanks to the main character. Danila is by no means a superman. He is close to every Russian. But unlike the majority of the population of a huge country, it is able to stand up for itself and for others.
The director of the film "Brother" and "Brother-2" demonstrated a diverse talent for a short period of time. The first picture, which was created as if by accident, touched a living Russian audience. It is enough to recall the realities of the post-Soviet era in order to understand the power of this picture. Old values are lost. New ones not yet acquired. And suddenly a hero appears on the screen, who in a social sense is absolutely lost. He has no idea what his future life will be. But he has principles that he will not sacrifice at all costs.
Sergey Bodrov
The director of the film "Brother", in addition, was able to successfully select the actors. If he chose a performer with a typical brutal appearance for the role of Danila, another action movie would have come out of his film. The picture would have drowned in a sea of cheap gangster movie stories. But the charm of Bodrov gave the film a special, unique shade. This actor managed to create an image on the screen in which wonderfully combines decisiveness, naivety, romance and a love of philosophical reflection.
Features of the picture
The success of the film also contributed to the musicians who played themselves. Namely - Vyacheslav Butusov and Sergey Chigrakov. Given the participation of such legendary personalities, even an average movie with a faded plot would have received initial popularity. In addition, it should be emphasized another feature of the style of Balabanov. He was one of the first Russian filmmakers used in the filming in order to achieve maximum naturalness, not only professional actors. This technique is now actively used by some modern Russian directors.
So, the film “Brother” was insanely popular. The director, whose filmography totaled by that time more than ten films, of which not a single one excelled the story of the adventures of a former participant in the Chechen war, decided to create a sequel.
The sequel "Brother-2", according to some critics, is clearly commercial in nature. However, in popularity, it is not inferior to the movie, which brought fame to Alexei Balabanov.
"Brother 2"
In 2000, a popular favorite appeared in a new film. The director of the film "Brother-2" created a kind of ideological confession. Words from Butusov’s song “Goodbye America” became key in the plot of the picture. The massive passion for everything western in the early 2000s began to finally subside. Balabanov decided to put an end to fashion in everything American, for which he was subsequently repeatedly accused of nationalism. In order to show the Russian viewer the unsightly ins and outs of Western life, Balabanov sent his hero on a long journey.
In America, Danila witnessed the wars between the "blacks" and "whites", the moral licentiousness of those in power. In the film, an ordinary guy becomes a real national hero. He succeeds: to repulse enemies, to spin an affair with the singer. In addition, he acts as the modern Robin Hood, helping a Russian girl nicknamed “Marilyn”. And most importantly, all his actions are not aimed at achieving personal interests. On a long and dangerous trip, he sets off for the sake of his friend’s brother.
