Brother

When I first saw Danila in the beginning of the film, I never would have expected him to be so comfortable in murder. As he stated, he only served in the HQ as a clerk, but the way he performs the tasks given to him by his brother seem to be executed by someone with experience. As Danila familiarizes himself with St. Petersburg, I think some of the acts that may have been seen as violent are justified. For instance, the scene on the bus as the ticket collector makes his rounds. When Danila threatens the men who give him a hard time, I believe Danny was good in his intentions, but threatening someone with a gun is not my way to do it; Besides, Danila doesn’t kill anyone in the process. Also, when Danny first meets the German and knocks out the man who attempts to take all of his goods, I see this act as something similar to what Robin Hood stood for, protecting the poor. Even though Danila eventually morphs into a mobster (also someone who is able to kill easily), I don’t see him as an evil character, but as one who would protect the good.

I found Danila’s friendship with Cat to be a confusing one. It seems that he has not much of an interest in drugs and doesn’t appear to have that much fun at the party Cat brings him to; maybe he was curious now that he had money? She just seemed to be some dumb rocker chick hooked on drugs. I preferred the mature wife (who does save his life) over Cat any day.

I find the scene in which the high Danila speaks with the Frenchman about the terrible American techno music to be very amusing. (Although Cat thinks it so cool, I laughed at its few words and references to sex.) Speaking of America, Americans portrayed in this film appear dense. In the scene where two tourists ask Cat for directions, they find that speaking slowly and loudly might enhance their ability to be understood by those who obviously don’t speak English. (Duh)

Overall, this Russian version of a gangster movie was unlike any I’ve seen in the States. It was less violent, although it did have some, but not the kind of blood and gore that I’m used to. I did appreciate the modern music and found Danila’s quest for that Nautilus CD to be interesting. I wanted to know why it was so important, maybe something worth checking out?