Brother 2[Брат-2](2000) RussiaDirected by Aleksei BalabanovWritten by Aleksei Balabanov. Cinematography by Sergei Astakhov. Music by M. Belovolov. With Sergei Bodrov, Victor Sukhorukov, Sergei Makovetskii, Irina Saltykova, Kirill Pirogov, Aleksandr D'iachenko, Daria Lesnikova, Ray Toler, and Lisa Jeffrey. |
Aleksei Balabanov essentially
recreates the Stalinist narrative paradigm in his film Brother 2. The villain
plot—one of the typical Stalinist master plots—of the film creates
the general framework into which such quintessential socialist realist elements
as narodnost' and klassovost'. The film traces the solitary battles of
Danila—the main character and positive hero—through the mafia-ridden
world of Moscow and all the way to Chicago, where he wages his final battle
against an American businessman whom he blames for the murder of his friend.
Danila's motivation stems from his desire to rid Russia of villainous powers
which reek havoc against the common Russian people-the narod. His repetition
of the patriotic poem, which he first hears orated by Belkin's (played by
Sergei Makovetskii) young son, that evokes Russia as the homeland and the Russian
people as a family becomes something of a new socialist realist mantra for the
21st century. | Aleksei Balabanov was born in Sverdlovsk on February 25, 1959. Balabanov made his directorial debut in 1989 with the documentary Egor and Nastia. His first feature film, Happy Days, was released in 1992 and won instant fame across Europe. Since, he has directed The Castle (1994), Brother, (1997), and Of Freaks and Men (1998). Balabanov presently works at STV Film Company in St. Petersburg. |