Brother (Russian)

Brother Брат
Russian poster
Directed by	Aleksei Balabanov
Produced by	Sergei Selyanov
Written by	Aleksei Balabanov
Starring	Sergei Bodrov, Jr. Viktor Sukhorukov Yury Kuznetsov Vyacheslav Butusov
Music by	Vyacheslav Butusov
Production company	STW Film Co.
Distributed by	Kino International Corp.
Release date	May 17, 1997 (Cannes)
Running time	95 minutes
Country	Russia
Language	Russian
Budget	$10,000 - $20,000

Brother (Russian: Брат, translit. Brat) is a 1997 Russian crime film directed by Aleksei Balabanov. The film stars Sergei Bodrov Jr. as Danila Bagrov, a young Russian ex-conscript. The character of Danila is considered by many in Russia to be an icon of the early post-Soviet period. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. After its release on VHS in June 1997, Brother unexpectedly became one of the most commercially successful Russian films released in the 1990s and quickly became a cult film throughout Russia. Due to the film's popularity and fan demand, a sequel, Brother 2, was released in 2000. Brother 2 is notable for having a significantly higher budget, more emphasis on action sequences, and taking place in Moscow and Chicago.

In the autumn of 1997, Danila Bagrov (Sergei Bodrov Jr.) returns to his small hometown of Priozersk following his demobilization from the Russian Army after the First Chechen War. Before he reaches home, he ends up in a fight with security guards, after he accidentally walks onto the set of a music video for the band Nautilus Pompilius. After Danila rejects a job offer from the chief of the local militsiya, who was a classmate of Danila's deceased father, he is released, on the condition that he will find work within the week. His mother insists that he travels to St. Petersburg to seek out his successful older brother Viktor, whom his mother is confident will help him make a living.