November 6th, 2025

The first half of my socialism class was finishing the movie Brother. Afterwards we had our discussion.

My professor asked us if Danila was a good guy. A students said that there were no good or bad guys in this movie. I mean, the guys who raped Sveta are clearly bad guys but whatever. Danila led become a well loved and iconic character in 2000s Russia, quotes from the movie are used a lot. I personally do not know what to make of Danila, he has his sweet moments which are contrasted by his violent actions and blatant anti-Semitism.

He has a love of music that people probably relate to, yet his work is incredibly brutal. I found his handling of the character Stepan very interesting. He was sort of “kind” despite holding a gun. He made a promise that no harm would come to Stepan and he kept it, killing his fellow gang members when they threatened Stepan’s life.

This is a Russian cult classic and yet the only good guy in it isa German, which my professor found amusing. She goes on to state that many young men were killed in criminal gang skirmishes. Putin’s rise to power was appreciated even though some believe he made alliances with the mob to get power. Is that even true?

Anyway, it is unclear in the translation of the movie but Danila is very xenophobic as he uses slurs against the people of the Caucasuses. This movie shows the darkness and ambiguity of the era. Ex-Soviet republics went from brotherhood under socialism to extreme racism after collapse. That is where class ended.