BROTHER: A THRILLING DEPICTION OF RUSSIA'S POST-PERESTROIKA TRANSITION VEER PURI

Aleksey Balabanov’s neo-noir crime masterpiece Brother (1997) depicts the tumultuous post-Perestroika period in 1990s Russia, an era which laid the groundwork for present-day Putinist Russia. The film illustrates the sociocultural consequences and by-products produced by the ascendency of capitalism following the demise of the Soviet Union. The post-Perestroika era was one of rapid change, as hasty privatization schemes and access to free markets opened up unprecedented economic opportunities for Russians. At the same time, the absence of law and order engendered uncertainty and distrust, and civilians were left to their own devices to survive. The regime shift exacerbated political corruption, and organized crime flourished. Balabanov’s protagonist Danila came to embody an antidote to the instability and chaos of the “wild” nineties, a time where “hustling” was a necessary means of survival in a “dog-eatdog” world.

Brother tells the story of Danila Bagrov (played by Sergei Bodrov), a 22-year-old man who has just returned home from serving in the Chechen War. Danila is unemployed with no financial support from his family, and his violent behaviour will likely land him in prison. His mother urges Danila to move to St. Petersburg to work with his brother Viktor (played by Viktor Surkhorukov). Unbeknownst to the family, Viktor works as a contract killer for the gang, and Danila is soon caught up in the world of crime.

Danila has a do-or-die mentality and is willing to bend the rules to make ends meet. His choice to become a hitman reflects the ruthless individualism and “hustle” at play in a newly capitalist world. He doesn’t think twice about the impact of his dangerous decisions, such as the families of those he kills. Balabanov counterbalances this individualism with aspects of leftover socialism in 1990s Russia. While Danila is a criminal, he also acts as a vigilante, helping others even when there is no benefit for himself.

When Danila first arrives in St. Petersburg, he becomes allies with a homeless German market vendor named Hoffman (played by Yury Kuznetsov) when Danila saves him from a thug attempting to rob him. While their worldviews differ, Danila and Hoffman become friends and help each other survive; Hoffman even helps Danila bury the bodies of his victims. In a way, Danila is a Robin Hood figure, compensating his allies with his ill-gotten gains before leaving St. Petersburg. He attempts to pay Hoffman, who refuses to take his money, content in his destitute state. However, Danila manages to give money to his drug addict friend, Kat (played by Mariya Zhukova). Kat appears to act as a kind of allegory for capitalism; his acceptance of the money symbolizes the transactional nature of capitalist society, where money is exchanged without personal obligation. In contrast, Hoffman’s refusal of Danila’s money embodies a more benevolent facet of socialism, in which citizens mutually help each other for the betterment of society as a whole. The duality between the two ideological poles of socialism and individualism captures this period of transition and adjustment in post-Perestroika Russia, with the older Hoffman hanging on to the past while the young Kat reaches into the future. Danila’s morally grey vigilantism transcends the discrepan-