they ruined my favorite Russian movie...
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- Опубликовано: 19 июн 2024
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I've made quite a lot of videos about the way Russian propaganda works on this channel, and it is still going strong. If you've been watching me for a while, you may have seen me review the Russian movie series known as Brat ("Brother"). They are some of my favorite movies ever and actually also were inspirations for the story and characters of GTA 4. Anyway, now the Russian propaganda has also come for the Brat movies, coopting its messaging and using it to promote the special military operation. Let's talk about it and see how my favorite Russian movie is being ruined. Smash like and sub for more thx xoxo
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Instagram ► / roman_nfkrz
The name of NFKRZ has a Z, russian bot confirmed
Cancell him!
And exatasia writes stupid comments ;)
His name also with an N; which is a upside version of a Z! Super mega ultra bot confirmed
@@projecttitanium-slowishdriver Sarcasm is like food, not alot of people get them
@@projecttitanium-slowishdriver Sarcasm is like electricity, half of the villagers are yet to get it.
As Teddy Roosevelt once said"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else."
Beautifully put
So russian shouod continue to proudly display the z and be actualy real patriots, got it.
@@Silver_Prussian No. Real Russian patriots will do what's best for their country, which is to stand against Putin and this ridiculous war. Putin is the true enemy of Russia who has enslaved it to his rule. He has stolen money from the Russian people and given it to himself. He has started a war under false pretenses that have murdered many innocent Ukrainian and Russian lives. His decisions are leading Russia down the drain. Real patriotic Russians support the Freedom of Russia Legion. L
@@Silver_Prussian those Z-ers are spilling their own brother's blood and isolate the country. Doesn't seem patriotic at all when compared to the pacifists that want peace and prosperity for both their countrymen and their neighbor. My country did a similar thing and it was a big shame.
@@ad7855 he government of ukriane and the us aee responsible for this had rhe country not had a puppet givernmemt all of thsi wouod have been avoided. Those are pacifists are p*ssies in reality. You probably meant to say neutral, if ukraine was neutral tjings woild be different its in their best interest and thw interest for every small country to be neutral especialy next to a superpower and especialy when they threaten the security of russia and no nukes are not an option, nukes ar wnot soft power nor can they be used in any wau for negotiation or military pressure.
How does this soind to you
,,ohhh we had a little border skirmish, i am going to nuke your entire country now, bye"
How is "support your country even if it's wrong" used as propaganda not an almost direct admission that they themselves know they are in the wrong?
Seriously
Russian moment
Careful you might make them think
Sergey Bodrov didn’t say “support your country even if it is wrong”. You completely misunderstood it.
Also, I got no idea what Sergei Bodrov himself was thinking when he did that interview, but that is literally a bad take. I heavily dissagree, and I think any reasonable person would disagree with him there. Like, no, you're not supposed to support and side with your countrymen when they're wrong, just because you're supposedly both in the same side - quite the opposite, actually, you should voice your disapproval then. (Not to mention that blind, unchecked and unconditional support like that can lead to bad outcomes, and was responsible for some of the worst atrocities in human history.)
Like I don't know, maybe that was just the undeveloped political thinking on this part, because he was still very young (God knows I've had some bad takes around 18-20 years old); or maybe the social conditioning around him that he was subjected to shaped these worldviews. Anyway... he was a great actor, and of course one bad interview doesn't take away anything from his roles; but as it was proven time and time again, being good in one domain doesn't make you equally good in others.
Saddest thing is neither Balabanov (movies' director), nor Bodrov (main actor) can discuss on this terrible misuse of these titles - they're dead. You can put anything into mouths of dead people. BadComedian - another badass Russian youtube creator (unfortunately onyl for Russian speaking) - made a video about how new Russian movie industry is pushing towards depicting war as something almost necessary, heroic, beautiful in opposition to old Soviet movies about WW2 where primary message was - NEVER AGAIN. Thanks for another interesting video, Roman! Счастливого!
The actor of viktor is alive though? But I think hes pro russian, I saw an interview of his where he condoned the annexation
Come and See is one of the best anti-war movie
@@afifr.alhafiz2137 one of the most extreme experience i ever got from watching a movie, pure mental horror, pure art 100% able to show why war should never be considered.
too bad that badcomedian himself is silent about the current war
@@theslavbeing335 None of us has the moral right to force and shame anyone to say anything. I believe he made a point, without getting himself into immediate trouble.
Danila is intended to be an antihero, that's what makes these movies so special and interesting. But unfortunately I feel a lot of people took him up as a role model growing up, same as with any other Russian antihero/bandit movies of late 90s and early 00s. Generation of edgelord peacocks.
definitely was a fanboy of the movie Bumer (BMW), thankfully I only watched the second movie when the anti hero started to try to redeem himself and died a hero so I didn't turn out too badly
People idolzing Danila are like those here in America who idolize mob members because of all the mob movies and shows.
Totally agree, but even without propaganda purposes many people miss literally all plot points go for the anti hero because he's badass. That's not just a Russian problem. Just look at all these weird dudes acting like Scarface or Fight Club (or even Wolf of Wallstreet) for example have great values
Every country has those same edge lord peacocks... the UK has far too many of them...
Yeah, there's a lot of similarity with how people here in the West see Tyler Durden from Fight Club. Lots of people miss the point of his character being a critique and look at the problems society has us face and influences our behavior, he's meant to be the things we _shouldnt_ be. Yet many "alpha male red pilled chads" think he's a role model and you can guess where that leads them lol.
Making the Brat movies into a pro Russian invasion of Ukraine symbol is like those people who see America Psycho and go “omg he’s just like me” “I am a sigma male based”. Completely missing the point.
And 500 Days of Summer that increased mysigyny bc it was too discreet to explain directly the "don't be like dat" conclusion
True
Sad part the second one is an ironic meme but with Брат movies Russian propaganda machine un ironically sells it to their people.
Ah yes bread.
They obviously didn't watch the last 10 minutes of the movie then.
What scares me is that the first movie is a self-fulfilling prophecy in a way. Danila is basically a fucked in the head war vet, kinda like Rambo or something. He came back home and no one gives him a time of day or cares, and his only trade is death now. Now this movie is used as a propaganda tool. And after this war is over we might witness a Balabanov reality as depicted in the first movie all over again. I jokingly say that cinemas decided to make new screenings of it just to prepare people for what is to come.
Then the Ukraine must make sure none of those degenerates make it back to Russia.
There was also news that Viktor Tsoi and Egor Letov songs are being performed for the Russian soldiers. They are using dead legends as a tool for propaganda, really sad. I bet Tsoi is rolling in his grave right now.
I mean, it's based if they are singing Letov's songs.
Unlike Brat movies or Tsoi songs, you can't really interpret Letov in a pro-government way.
His songs are all about people sentenced to death by the state or about how bad authoritarianism and conformity are in general
@@andreymontag Летов поддерживал Россию во время чеченских войн и писал про это песни, к примеру Дембельская
i feel almost the exact same way about this, the fact that nationalists are using the movies is stupid too because the movie itself critisizes Danila's opinions, for example when Danila is talking to the french guy, Danila thinks he's american, because of how ignorant and un-educated he is, or when he thinks Hoffman is jewish just because he has a german surname. I fucking love these 2 movies and the fact that some dumbasses are using it as propaganda pisses me off.
same shit
Imagine the cognitive dissonance, praising a film which depicts crime, gang violence, racism and antisemitism in a realistic and raw manner as a prime example of ruzzian patriotism. Or this behaviour is what the state actually expects from it's citizens. Putin and his cronies at least give a pretty good example.
Kind of like racist people who use american history x scenes
@@sass174 exactly lol
I'm glad you commented since I was confused he was talking about america and the guy was sounding french lol.
Bringing back Bratz, the famous doll series, now featuring "Tankie Trisha" and "Imperialist Ivy" for the special military operation.
I hate that this was also my first thought.
Lol can you imagine how short the skirt on that uniform would be? 🤣 Bratz dolls with do it yourself add on hammer and sickle tattoos. And Imperial German eagle🤣🤣im laughing too hard
"Comrade Carla"
"you have to support your country in a war even if you're on the wrong side" is an unambiguously horrible take no matter what context it was said in. completely inexcusable. spreading that idea directly translates into a likely huge increase in suffering and there can't possibly be something good about it.
standard american quote ''my country right or wrong''
Also, if someone thinks it's important to make this point right now, it implies not only that there is a war going on but that the leadership is on the wrong side of it. Otherwise, why would anyone bring this up?
@@joek600 what?
For real, with argument like this phrase, you can justify pretty much anything, even such atrocities as holocaust. It's horrible to think in this way.
@@v616sirius He's saying that it's something that both American and Russian nationalists say.
Also worth noting is that Brat shows how terrible, anarchic and dysfunctional the 90s were. Russians still love Putin because he ended that chaotic era for them, so it serves as a reminder of "why we need Putin" and what he apparently did for Russia.
Good point but most russians dont know he controls the mafia or did so kind of not really a lawful society
Yeah and Putin literally was a part of this corrupt system. Not to mention that "the 90s" phase ended pretty much in all of the post-soviet states and others did it without Putin cause it aint like he is some sort of a special god
@@silversurfermusicco5263 But still an improvement over the 90's
@@castorchua Like Hitler, he also represented order in 30s Germany. But no one would call it improvement now....
Putin's actions are destroying Russia. What Russian people love is the countries fake news and propoganda.
I am from Ukraine and this is one of my favorite movie. To be honest , I never thought about about these things. Unfortunately, I think they are just ruining the film which is sad.
I believe you can seperate this from the movie itself atleast, no matter how much they try and ruin it, the director etc can't have this view on the film as I think he passed away.
"Sila v pravde"... Yes, Ukraine will win lol
here you go
ruclips.net/video/evkr6wG3BY0/видео.html
@@wesswise28 fine
@@newlandpencilnut4754 The director is still alive.
As an English speaker who saw both films subbed: I understand the idea of Danila being an imperfect anti-hero, but only to some extent. It came across really well in the first film: he does some horrible things, he comes into conflict with people, he saves his brother and kills the bad guys, but the girl he was with leaves him and the film ends in a very bittersweet, reflective way. You get the sense that he might regret the type of person he's become, or the type of country his beloved Russia has become. The grim Petersburg skyline helps with this a lot. Above all it's a great movie because of the complex picture it paints, and it's certainly not a heroic movie.
The second film does not do this AT ALL.
In the second film, the brothers go to America, humiliate all the bad guys, Danila gets his big speech at the end, and he leaves, triumphant, with the girl. There's no sense of regret at all, and there's no consequence to any of their actions - any time the police get onto them, they escape via comically thin plot devices (except for Viktor at the end, whose role is essentially reduced to comic relief). The racism in the first film which highlighted Danila's character is now turned up 100x, and none of it - against Ukrainians, Americans, African Americans, Jews, etc. - is pushed back against at all. The Russians always come out on top. The treatment of Ukrainians in that film in particular really shocked me.
For me it's almost astonishing the two films came out of the same studio. The first is a masterful art piece which paints a superbly ambivalent picture of Russia in the '90s, and the complex characters who live there, while the second is a high budget nationalist romp with next to no plot, which only exists to look cool.
Those are fash movies. They only reason we find the first one good is the (metaphorical) death of the author
So essentially "Bruh" got the Rambo treatment and official Russian government institutions slapped on the stamp of approval for promoting the might of military and patriotic values, like how Ronald Regan praised Rambo 2 for giving him "advice" on how to handle a hostage situation.
Em, antiheroes that are jerks, and very flawed are a thing. And often fun, and likable enough to care , but also erks at least. And wrong, and proven wrong.
So its like rambo? Even iff it is far less showing that he is wrong, and a danger, and kinda his ault too.
Rambo is showing he is traumatied by th war , and spit on by his homeland, and dies. At ast in th book, and it ends pretty much tragic with him too, even if he doesnt.Less than the book but works a tragic tale rthr than a hero.
But the next, yeah, not that at all. Honesty the funniest thing is rambo 3 having hroic muhatshedinn and thm oficia thanked in the credits. And i like him til he gets violent being just a guide on the river.
@@andreymontagsure 😐
Racism is in inherent part of the immigrant experience in America.. where the story takes place which is a subtly recurring theme throughout the movie. Also just like the first showed some dark realities of Russia in the 90s the second shows these in America.
I would say you need at least some historical context to understand the interactions from the movie before you call it “racist” or “fascist”. It’s not like the plot exaggerated anything in Chicago tbh.
As a fellow black-ass I just have one critique regarding Roman's opinion that these movies aren't trying to say anything really, but just wanted to show the situation and the average/gangster life in Russia, in the 90s.
The entire ending of the second film. What would have been a realistic depiction of the main character, is if he died in fucking shootout or some similar bleak or somber end.
Instead he just wins, he ends up being completely vindicated in everything he has done and that's idiotic, it literally transforms the movie into some kind of fucked up power fantasy.
This is gonna sound kinda cringe, but Roman, I recommend you watch the "a trip to Karabakh" movies, I'm not comparing them to the Brat movies, but what you described Brat to be, i.e. a visualization, a representation of how things were in Russia in the 90s, the "a trip to Karabakh" movies do the same, but for Georgia. They also get preachy at times and less realistic, but that's not even a critique depending on who's watching.
OR
If you really want to fall into depression and cry your eyes out, watch ""The Other Bank"
I think that the second movie just went crazy with 'meta', because the first one wasn't uderstood by the audience, and it had to get sequel just for amount of money it made up. The director just didn't want to disappoint people.
You are right. But Danila dying would be very predictable ending for a Russian movie :D
i think they wanted to do a third movie ,but Sergei Bodrov jr. died in 2002 .
@@Martina-Kosicanka Not saying he had to die, but some kind of somber, bittersweet ending would make much more sense.
As it stands now it just ended with a guy who would have robbed me for just being georgian, winning at life
@@19megamustaine85 not sure how that would have fixed the 2nd movie's ending, but yeah maybe
They ruined almost everything Russia-related, dude. For everyone.
Before the invasion I used to listen Russian music every day. Now I just can't. It lost the taste for me. I'm not kidding.
Russia has a lot of unused land... go figure. 1984
Yup...
@@ferdinanddaratenas3447 I was very immerged into Russian culture. Unfortunately I started to idolise it and eventually fell for propaganda about how everyone is hurting Russia for centuries.
I felt like losing a long-term boyfriend on February 22.
My mum said, she felt the same disappointment, as Soviet Union, our liberator, invaded us in 1968.
I personally know grown man that cried of disappointment in 2022 again
@@Martina-Kosicanka Don't worry. Your ex-boyfriend is the one who lost big time. Czech girls are so gorgeous.
Things like these cannot change the view of a movie that was filmed almost 30 years ago and has captured the zeitgeist of the 90s Russia. It was what it was it is what it is.
Roman, actually the same thing happens in America too. For example, the song "Born in the USA" by Bruce Springsteen was originally a song about the plight of a Vietnam War veteran. Ronald Reagan turn is to a pro-American patriotic anthem, which Springsteen never wanted in the first place.
We have the same here in Australia
Several times Dropkick Murphys, a band from Boston, had PUBLICLY went against Republican politicians trying to use their songs on their campaigns
[BTW I'm a EEuropean lefty who started listing to DM thanks to anarchists friends]
Same thing with "This land is your land"
Z is for Zorro
V for Vendetta
(or V has come to if you're into MGS)
I will not accept any other meanings.
Still, I should probably change my username just in case
V for the cheesy 1980's TV series about alien invaders who eat guinea pigs 😂
Its not unpatriotic to talk shit about Russia as a Russian in this case since it isn't a war in Ukraine. Speaking out against it is just a special rhetorical operation.
Grand Theft Auto 4 was the peak for the series narratively and in every other way. Before Rockstar unironically became the jaded corporation they had been parodying since GTA3. The whole center point of the entire game was always Niko. Imagine for once in gaming history developers decided to make a character that is not only great and you are interested in, but a character you are inspired by because of the very realistic tones handled deftly in the game. Niko by all accounts shouldn't have been the effective altruist that he was because of everything he had experienced in war (and being a party to war crimes). He understood this cold broken resentful outlook on life was not only destructive but infectious. Coming to a new land with what became instantly apparent to him as a false notion of an "American Dream" with every experience he faced, with everyones stupidity and constant self servience getting them and him into trouble. His rational his brilliant ability for tactics and manipulation being used to protect those whom he cared about even if at a basic acquaintance level would resonate with these people. A "why would you help me?" realization that they had truly messed up. Niko would always have something moralistic and brilliant to express to them every time, or an anecdote of what he was back home or what he saw in mankind. These people had a fixer in Niko and each time when they would cross the line and mess up, they would have no choice but to listen to him after he'd clean up their mess. He was a philosopher first and a gangster second. His accomplices would repeat these mistakes a few more times before each light moral lesson Niko would give them would finally bloom into a new outlook for everyone he'd interact with. People were inspired by Niko and his almost pragmatic approach to being Dostoevsky's "Idiot". He forged the American Dream by force by proving that stoicism, good deeds, forgiveness and critical understanding of human nature could be just as infectious as banality and malice. A character like this could only be forged in the East and truly took to new levels the "hero cowboy" of the West. Masterclass character building.
Everyday I am mad that my copy of GTA IV on steam never boots up.
They hit the nail on the head with rdr2. I always felt GTA5 was too cartoony. It just felt corny compared to the layers that went into 4. Especially with the connections of the dlc
I had the exact same thoughts when I watched a recent analysis of the movie in the context of the war in Ukraine. One of my all time favorite movies and now I don't know how to feel about them (especially because I'm Ukrainian...). Everything going on kind of ruined it for me and I can't seem to watch it the same way that I did before.
Можешь подсказать видео эссе?
@@slivka_1 ось ruclips.net/video/evkr6wG3BY0/видео.html
Because you hate Russians now. Shame, no need to feel this sort of stuff.
А почему? Просто тот факт, что персонаж Сухорукова какие-то антиукраинские вещи говорит? Так там оба брата персонажи как бы сомнительные. Но сняты эти фильмы круто, и показывают живые образы. Просто я не помню, разве там сами украинцы изображены как отрицательные персонажи?
Ну а обзорщик этот - просто профессиональный преплетатель рашки, к любой херне цепляется. При этом там такие есть у него мыслишки типа нет хороших русских - ну то есть банально спекулирует на эмоциях людей во время войны. Как бы ни закончилось все равно наши страны друг от друга никуда не переедут да и историю общую не отменить, надо будет как-то жить мирно, хоть сейчас это только мечты
Честно говоря, сам Балабанов немного стеснялся своего фильма "Брат 2". Ведь ему задавали вопросы на некоторых интервью, что понимает ли он какую шовинисткую вещь он в принципе продал аудитории? И этот вопрос вводил его в ступор.
Мне кажется, именно поэтому он решил позже снять "Груз 200" после всего этого фидбэка ( и смерти Бодрова ). Чтобы было понятнее, какая у него всё-таки позиция.
Never saw the movies you discussed but as to the idea that it is unpatriotic or traitorous to criticize one's country during wartime is utterly bogus. Would a German been traitorous to be against the Nazi government in 1944? (certainly would have in the eyes of the Nazis but that then that is the point) Putin's war against Ukraine is nothing more than an imperialist adventure by an autocrat that a great tragedy for the people of Russia. I still feel that I was a patriot even though I spoke and demonstrated against the war in Vietnam. Fortunately neither Hitler nor Putin was the leader of my country.
Completely agree with you, friend. I, as ukrainian, think what all normal russians, who don't support and acting against fascist system in Russia - true patriot, who deserve to respect. Not all russian are fascist bastards. Fuck Putin and his supporters, but not all russians.
You were a patriot, thank you for your stance.
What would victory over Vietnam bring your country anyway?
@@Martina-Kosicanka we accomplished nothing in Vietnam. We had 50,000 dead, North and South Vietnam millions. In my opinion we and Vietnam would have been far better off by us offering development aid after they kicked the French out instead of trying to prop up a non--democratic government in the South that was not supported by the people in the south.
@@timconnell6881 Well said, I guess
Very strange comparison to make
Roman, however good Brat's music and screenplay, the message was always clear. People had noticed how the two films played on Russian resentment and asserted a xenophobic, militant, hyper masculine vision of what Russia is. You would have been quite little when the films came out, and not too affected by the political messaging, but if you were a Chechen who had endured Yeltsin's and then Putin's wars, you would have recognised your abuser's mentality at once in the films. Brat's popularity was an important cue to Putin from the start.
@agapp11able Just because Chechen leaders declared independence, the wholesale slaughter, and destruction of Chechen cities full of civilians is not justified.
@agapp11able I guess you restricted your reading to articles in Russian state media... Read Anna Politkovskaja. She was actually interested in discovering what was really going on, making public Russian war crimes without concealing the rising willingness of some chechen groups to resort to terrorism in the process.
@agapp11able You aren't even able to read and understand my comment, how could you possibly understand such a complicated topic?
@agapp11able Yeah... systematically fueled by Putin and russian intelligence. Ever heard of Khanpash Terkibaev?
@agapp11able Okay, you are definitively not able to understand what I'm writing. So I'll end this conversation at this point.
The reason there are so many Ukrainians in Brat 2 is because it takes place in Chicago which historically (and to this day) has a large Ukrainian population.
Because Ukraine, with it's huge russian speaking population was the second market for russian films. People better watch films about themselfs.
Compared to every other Russian RUclipsr your command of the English language, as well as your understanding of other cultures, is on another level. You analyze things with both honesty and nuance that's really unmatched, and you are among the best, best on RUclips.
Hey Roman, my favorite Russian movies are Bumer (1 and 2) and Brigada (TV series). They're quite popular not also in Russia, but also in Eastern Europe and it'd be awesome if you'd make video reviews about them, just like you did for Brat. I'd be very happy if you could show these absolute masterpieces to your audience.
Dyuzhev guy, the tall one from Brigada and also Bezrukov (main star), went full crazy for the war propaganda :(
I'd also be interested in a 'best of Russian cinema'. In Australia, we have the primary government channel, the ABC, and a secondary, somewhat less funded channel, imaginatively called SBS, the secondary broadcasting service. one of its major roles is international media, so carries news from many countries, and subtitles an awful lot of movies. Caught some really cool movies there, my favourites being Russian and Korean. unfortunately, its almost impossible for me to remember the names of them unless I write them down. I'd really appreciate a few more to check out
@@arjovenzia check out Kin-dza-dza!
@@arjovenzia I recommend watching the film “The Fool” (2014) by Yuri Bykov.
Brief description from Wiki: The Fool is a 2014 Russian realistic melodrama, and displays the tragic attempt of how integrity and courage cannot fix the corruption of society.
Whenever I hear an authoritarian government use the word 'truth' I get a flashback to 1984 or to that quote at the end of that HBO series about Chernobyl. It's the same thing when companies that sell unhealthy shit like McDonalds or Coca Cola make advertising for sports events.
It reminds me of Canadian conservatives making a complete mockery of the Liberal Party and Trudeau’s leadership by equating it to communism, and that the “truth” can only be seen if a leader of the People’s Party of Canada, a far-right party whose members and supporters are basically pro-Canadian Nazis, replaces the “communist” Liberal Party at an election.
Russian government: truth is power meanwhile: operation has been complete success we lost barely 10 men our flagship accidentally sunk because of a cigarette also even though the evidence by this point is likely a mile high we definitely didn’t commit numerous war crimes
Whenever i heqr rhe word freedom i think of the horror of the 90s, syria, iraq, afghan,vitman, somalia, yugolsavia, eastern europe, yemen,etc.
@@charlesmcgill2974 what are you talking about? It didn’t sink! It was promoted to a submarine and then went on a special submerging operation.
@@Silver_Prussian whenever I see you you're always snorting cope and playing the Whataboutist game
The War in Ukraine 🇺🇦 started in 2014
Yes. Started by Russian backed separatists
LETS GO NFKRZ BANGERS!
Hey, I am European, but I feel sympathy for what has been done here. Hijacking a cultural icon to spread false propaganda is not okay. Similarly using a recently deceased person's words to silence dissent about a w** is also not okay, particularly because they were a private person with unstated political opinions.
The second movie was fun, but the first one I believe has a bit more subtext. For example in the clip you showed Danila says that America will be gone soon and that the American music is shit when the beat itself is clearly something along the lines of Eurodance and the guy himself is French. I'm fairly sure that was intentional. That movie was full of metaphors and pretty much showed the bleak reality of the time period. However, I was also guilty of remembering the movies as RUSSIA STRONK, but when I watched them as an adult my perception changed from it being cool to it being really sad. Fun fact, Saint-Petersburg still looks like Brat 1 at times, and that is not a compliment. I think the only mistake Balabanov made when making those in retrospect is overestimating the audience's ability to read the subtext since in Russian zeitgeist those two movies are taken quite literally. But then again, he's dead we will never know.
Stay safe Roman. Keep telling your truth.
*the truth
There is no "your" truth, there's just...the truth. Zoomers keep thinking that their opinions are somehow a truth in of itself... it's not. Objectively there is truth in the word, and that's what we should go for and that's what Roman is going for too
@@tevarinvagabond1192 i agree with what you mean, I just meant his own personal journey/experiences as a russian citizen who disagrees with the russian war on ukraine- as well as the objective truthful facts. you're correct.
Time to rename your channel to NFKR
or NFKRS
Roman: I'm 61 and I didn't even know that there was a second movie until I heard that here from you, saw them both, and I think that they are excellent! All movies reflect the day they were made, in the context of the times they were made, in the setting that the writers set them in: No More, and No Less. Art is for Art's Sake. And so with that? Considering your excellent tastes in Cinema, my wife and I are adopting you as our Son. That's right! Your Connection to a small Ohio town and Ranch Style House is now complete. ;-) 73 DE W8LV BILL
Sergei Bodrov, Jr. died at age 30 during the filming on a movie in the mountains. A large piece of ice broke off triggering an ice and mud flow that buried and killed 135 people working on the movie. That was in 2002. The film was The Messenger.
Thank you. You saved me the trouble of looking up how he died.
V - Vladimir
Z - Zelenskiy
O - Oleksandrovich
I don't think it's a coincidence.
I think its a coincidence.
Y - ur mam
I didn't realize the Brat movies were so popular in Russia. I saw them at the Montreal film festival back in the 90s. A running joke in the movie is people are always telling him, "For God's sake, get rid of that sweater, it makes you look like a peasant..." I always though the sweater looked great, and I bought one that looked similar, which is still my favorite sweater over 20 years later. It's so sad that he died young, I wasn't aware of that. As to the movie being used as propaganda, it raises the question of who is acting like the "Americans" in the movie?
I like how transliterated into English, the movie title spells “BratZ” 😂
Not only they used half-philosophy in this movie. They use the ironically "hate-filled" movie for propaganda.
This movie used to feature 2 songs by Okean Elzy (Ukrainian band), which got cut as I've heard.
Well... That's gonna ruin the mood. What are they gonna dub over in replacement? Or just make it a quiet version? 🤣
@@Iquey I think they prob just LITERALLY CUT it.
2:54 danila doesnt know that he is speaking to a french not an american lmfao
Putin might want to use these movies for propaganda but they stand on their own. They're part of Russian culture no matter what the government uses for.
Also Roman, how are you dealing with the crypto crash? Since that's how we can donate It's kinda worrisome.
"how are you dealing with the crypto crash"
Hopefully it is not too much of a problem for him as long as he is able to quickly convert his donations to some real currency usable in Georgia. I think it's only a problem if he tries to use it as a store of value.
@@robertjenkins6132 I get it. But it was so sudden I wonder if he got affected by It. I hope he did that and converted everything to fiat as soon as he got it.
@@Keviamaya i never bought crypto. But isnt it better to keep the crypto if it crashes?
@@GnomePower1000 I mean if it goes all the way down then no. It seems to be losing value rapidly and if we enter into a recession is probably gonna reach 2018 levels. So is probably not great for him :(
"They're part of Russian culture no matter what the government uses for."
That's the issue. ruzzian culture is build on imperialistic tendencies and deranged superiority complex. Brat wasn't a satire, it was the love letter to cultural degradation of ruzzia into fascistic state.
Over the past decade I've found myself ambivalent over virtually every piece of media I was a fan of in my youth. It doesn't mean I hate all that stuff, just that I see pro-status-quo attitudes that I cannot jibe with in today's context. Even when the creator is well intentioned, they (and we) are a product of the society we grow up in. And there are no good guys in a world of ubiquitous authoritarian heirarchies, regardless of whether they dress themselves up as liberal capitalism or are just mask-off despots.
Roman... love your videos, you are literally giving everyone hope that there is some sanity among your fellow countryfolk... Keep doing what your doing... Big up from the UK
From Canada as well.
Russian culture was like a tasty buterbrod, now it’s dropped on the floor butter side down
so you hate russians/russian culture because the actions of their dictatorial goverment
@@grandioso3507 I don’t. That would just be stupid. If I hate Russians/Russian culture I wouldn’t have spent thousands hours of my life learning Russian (my native language is Chinese so Russian isn’t the easiest for me to learn). My comment is more of a joke, expressing my lamentation on how examples of Russian culture are misappropriated for unjust causes.
@@mingmiao364 i gotcha!
Also this movie portrays how bad soldiers are treated by Russia.
As Spanish I liked the movies, putin can't take this away from me, I don't give him such power
Showing soldiers be treated badly is a classic patriotic move - and heavy used in propaganda (see Rambo movies for reference or even Nazi propaganda Like Kolberg has this kind of self criticism) propaganda isn't pain stupid it is a game with human emotions
@@fischX I partially agree,
You can see Top Gun (one of the movies make recruiting grow as hell) or Born the 4th of July that clearly portrays how badly was vietnam soldiers (anti war)
Watching BRAT is telling Russian soldiers are going to be living in misery and nobody is clapping at them
@Sanctus Paulus 1962 Fortunate Son moment lol
Non-Russian American here. I saw these last year and really liked those movies! The first one was a kind of superhero power fantasy. I took the 2nd movie as a kind of self-parody and massive troll of the US. Also, maybe a bit insecure? Both really, really worth watching if you like, say, John Wick.
Sad to hear the star died the way he did.
The plot of second movie is literally a dream of a Russian imperialist - to come abroad to save "brothers" from the influence of evil westerners. And even though all the references to Ukraine were said by Victor, a negative character in the plot of the movie, there are still oddly specific, they kinda feel like messages to the watchers. Also on a separate occasion similar words were said by a taxi driver in a different scene. Idk Roman, to me the second movie is a clear propaganda of the so called Russian world. First movie also have suspicious remarks but it is not as glaringly pro Russian imperialism as second movie.
It was not all "Westerners" who are evil in these films. It is the Western Material culture of greed and atomization that is being criticized. The German and the American Truckdriver are the two characters who are portrayed most positively in the films. And the Westernized Punk Girl, the Russo-Jewish Used Car Saleslman, the Russian Mafia Boss in the first film and the Russian "Businessman" in the second film are portrayed in highly negative light. Aleksei Balabanov wasn't saying "Americans Bad- Russians Good". He was criticizing certain values which dominate the American Elites and the American Government and which bled in to and nearly destroyed Russia in the 1990's.
Aren't the villain's of American movies Westerners?
@@scottwillie6389 but it's still jingoistic!
it's like when american movies portray Russia, the middle east, or east Asia as a den of evil except for this one good guy, or this one nice girl, or this one child.
it's still nationalist bull, because he's pitting Russian values against "american" ones, as if pure worship of power isn't something u'd find in Russia, with the good guys even not Russian all subscribing to Russian values. how do u not see this?
@@louschwick7301 It is not "one" guy though. The truckdriver (and the Police Sargent who cuts him loose from jail) are clearly stand ins to represent traditional American values and traditional values. What we in America would term "Real America". Balabanov is not some mindless nationalist. The values he espouses are universal values, not specific to Russia.
@@scottwillie6389 Arguably Danila's friend from the war and his brother (The Hockey Player that gets threatened by Ukrainian mobsters) could be considered ''good Ukrainians''.
He is stated to be from Kyiv, although he fought in the Russian army with Danila and neither of them is seen speaking Ukrainian like the mobsters.
So maybe they are supposed to be Russians who lived in Ukraine, or bilingual Ukrainians.
It's hard to know since we don't see them talking to other Ukrainian characters.
As I've seen these movies, I can say they had strong ideological message already when produced. "Brat" was made in 1997, the time when Russia had lost control over Chechnya, so people of the Caucasus origin were the scapegoats. "Brat 2" from 2000 (meanwhile, Yeltsin was replaced by Putin, and Chechnya was being "solved"), was clearly anti-Ukrainian; there was also an interesting episode showing like the neo-Nazis are supposed to be simply weird guys who like to collect weapons, but they can be used for common interests. And, in the next movie from the same director "Voina" (The War), one of the main lines was showing how weak (if to avoid using any more rude word) are the Western people. So, I do not think "they" ruined the movie, "they" just put it to the natural context.
pretty much all russian war movies ever made are government propaganda. I guess you could say the USA for example has war movies that glorify its military, but at the same time they have loads of movies/shows that show how dysfunctional the military is (jarhead, generation kill, apocalypse now, full metal jacket, etc etc etc). Russia has basically turned war movies into propaganda theater about how great russia is
Brat 2 is not "anti-Ukrainian". There are Ukrainian Mafia characters in the film, and they are Banderites, but as we see today with Azov such people did and do exist in real life and especially common among the Ukrainian Criminal Underworld.
@@moonasha Check out Demobbed, also from 2000
It’s a mockery of what our army and many young people were back then
@@scottwillie6389 today there are hardly any banderites and barely any of them are in Azov
Yeah I agree. I really liked the films, especially the first one. But when when you watch the second I think its pretty obvious that the films are made with strong nationalist intentions.
"We don't need Western movies, we will just watch БРАТ for the hundredth time"
This is so true
Btw we have one similar case here in Finland like that Brat-movie case. Popular movie called "Vares - Yksityisetsivä" (eng. Vares - private investigator). There was one of the funniest and legendary movie scene where two stupid criminal guys imagine together if there is newspaper called "Mitä vittua-lehti"(WTF-magazine). Later in Finland some Pro-Putinists opened in real life propaganda news website with that exact name "Mitä vittua?"(WTF). It shows only pro-Russian news in Finnish and very rasist bullshit amateur texts how refugees are destroing Finland etc. And they "surprise surprise" opened that website in 2014. The same year when Crimea occupied etc.
I still don't think the movie is ruined. Those Putinists just stolen that name. Normal people do not read their propagandawebsite.
I can’t help but think about politics while watching V (TV Series 2009-2011).
I only recently discovered your channel and I'd like to thank you for your perspectives and interesting topics. Keep being you, stay safe, greetings from Czech Republic!
Roman you look like Bert Reynolds with that moustache 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
"The one who's truthful is stronger" well, can't disagree with that 💀
When you admit your weakness
This was really interesting, keep doing you Roman!🔥💯
Eloquent , articulate and coherent journalism - keep it up , Roman !
Thank you，you just made these 2 movies my favorite movies
Bro has really been munching on one too many khachapuris lately 😳
Im glad you could move and feel free man! I love your videos!
"Brother" is basically a russian version of a "Gosling movie"
In Czech Republic we have a similar phrase as our countries official national motto “pravda zvítězí” - which means “truth will prevail.” But it was used as a symbol of resistance towards oppressors - Austria-Hungary, Third reivh and later the USSR. It’s interesting how the meaning of such phrases can be twisted to support your own narrative no matter what it is. In a way it proves that we’re really living in a post-truth society…
Wasn't it a shout out to Hussite slogan? Sometimes inscribed on pavisse shields in Latin as "Veritas Vincit"? (NGL, my knowledge of Hussites is mostly based in Reynevan's/Hussite Trilogy by A. Sapkowski and very basic info from that two lessons about them I had in Polish schools, one in elementary and one in middle school)
It would be really so original and so interesting if you made a video on the stereotypes that there are about the former Soviet republics and the various areas of Russia, because in this way you would provide us with very interesting material to listen to. Nobody did it online! In slow and understandable Russian.
Your Brat and GTA 4 videos are what made me subscribe to you in 2019. Keep up the top quality videos Roman
I love this channel. I learn so much! Thank you for your hard work.
I think Rockstars masterpiece is still GTA San Andreas. Sad to see what has become of Rockstar Games.
Eh vice city had a better story
They in fact milking gta 5 across multiple platform gta 5 trailer with different shot. I honestly disappointed with their actions. I miss the old gta.
@@drumboarder1 vice city is pretty good, since it’s basically a game version of Scarface! Lmao i hope when a remake/gta 6 comes out, the map is bigger
@@mr.patriotjol gta 5 was a step back from 4 n the company seemingly lost any decency so 6 is gonna be an abortion
It's as the Polish saying goes "Future is certain in Russia, it's the history that keeps on changing"
Gotta say, whatever else, I really love those shots of Chicago in the background of Brat 2. I went by the factory at 0:40 quite a lot while I was in college and living downtown. The surroundings have changed a lot, but there are still a lot of recognizable landmarks.
That building (Union Station Power House) on Roosevelt is still there. (Though it's funny that the image is inverted, that building is actually on the west side of the river). But you can still see the major buildings that still exist today like River City Apartments, The Old Post Office Building, and obviously the Sears Tower).
Both Brother movies were shown in the class of a Russian Geography course I had in university back in 2010. Never thought I would hear about them in this context. I wonder if my old professor ever went back to stay, he loved talking about how Lake Baikal was better than any lake in the PNW.
Russian cinema is really interesting. You should do a video on Russian music. I’d love to hear your take on the cultural impact of it on Russian people
i watched “come and see” the other day and it was so gut wrenching. easily one of the best war films ever
This video reminded me of one of my favorite book series (because it's Russian) and I looked up the author (Sergei Lukyanenko's Night Watch) .... After discovering his stance on Ukraine I really wish I hadn't now.....😖
Awesome as always. Thanks Roman!
getting a lot of acoustics with this setup m8
Brat 2 is one of the greatest films ever made.
There are plenty of American movies where the bad guys are Russians or at the very least just generally Slavic. I love some of those movies. I can't speak to the directors/writers/producers intentions, but it wouldn't surprise me if they really were trying to generate animosity or sow fear towards the Russians, the Cold War and its aftermath and all that.
But I don't hate Russians or other Slavic people. They're just movies.
As another American who has watched some of the movies (but isn't anti-Russian or anti-Slavic), I would agree! I wouldn't be surprised either that some of the fear of the Russians came from the films, just as the Kremlin is trying to draw anti-Western and anti-Ukrainian sentiment from the _Brat_ films!
However, the lesson I get from this comment is to get entertainment from movies and information about other countries from... actual sources of information! That's the advice I am following with Russians, and which I will follow anywhere else!
You literally can't get this content anywhere! Glad you exist bro!
Very interesting video, always love learning about foreign films w culturally relevant anti heroes. What’s crazy too is, while I was watching this vid on a train to Amsterdam, this kinda sketchy looking dude/ kid train hopped into the car I was in, asking to borrow someone’s newspaper to look at the date or headline and then kinda talking to himself like a crazed time traveler, holding a phone that didn’t seem to work. He looked either high on drugs or friending for them by how he was acting, and since he was kinda weirding out a couple Dutch girls I started a conversation with him. Pretty quickly he said that he was ‘polski part of nato’ but kept dropping a few Russian words I recognized like Niet and pozhaluysta, and then said he was almost arrested in Paris for cocaine and they called him a terrorist but he got away, which was why he kept looking over his shoulder. Eventually he got off in Rotterdam. I don’t know what his full story was or where he was from for sure, but he seemed like Russian runaway kid and I kinda felt bad for whatever series of events led to his predicament. A literal брат type character in the flesh! what were the odds of that?
Keep up the videos, I love them
@Animation Shorts 🅥 while i appreciate the video no one likes a spammer
they even started using Kino (my favourite band originally from Leningrad) for propaganda, sad af
Imagine using doomer, anti USSR, pro freedom Kino for propaganda. I guess its true, people really don't care about the lyrics of a song.
@@BiigiieCheeese i’m just waiting for them to start using the late Tsoi, as a political tool ‘cuz his status in Russia is absolutely legendary, although he died just before the USSR collapsed. i also shouldn’t give them ideas in the first place
really?? that's bullshit, tsoi would hate this
confusing times but you are giving the right directions as always bra
Still killing it man
Roman: Ever see the Georgian movie "Покаяние" ("Repentance")?
Must see. Very important movie.
i personaly think that a Mouvie all about the First Chechen war , in the style of a apocalypse now or full metal jacket , would be really intressting
I live in Chicago, and I want to send you video of what the брат 2 settings look like today.
Damn thats super interesting Roman! Will watch Brat now :)
Terrible that these movies are being used this way. I’ve seen neither film but have wanted to for a long time. Will make a note to do that.
"Truth is power"
"Arbeit macht frei"
First I thought "Russian World" would be the replacement. But this one fits better I think.
What does the German Nazi slogan that they used on gates of concentration camps: "Work sets you free", have to do anything with "Truth is power" or "Russian world"?
Nah, the "power is in the truth" thing is just your tipical russian cope mechanism. "America may be rich but Russia is super spiritual and just and don't have gay parades" and shit. Helps you to suppress the infiriority complex. At the same time Russia has 75% divorce and abortion rate, much bigger than "godless gay usa" and almost nobody here can quote the Bible. It's just 45-70 year old dudes and grandmas tryin to justify their own sad existence with this "truth" shit.
"RUSSIA LITERALLY NAZI OMG PUTLER!!!"
I can see your point! After all, "Strength is in truth" applies as well to Moscow as "Work makes you free" did to Auschwitz!
@Sam Cleife It needs a special degree of delusions to have all the information and still fall for such lies.
Same thing with people thinking Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The USA" is a pro-US song
I loved that movie too, both parts of it and generally everything made by the director Aleksei Balabanov is brilliant and depicts Russia, not just from a good side. But the world has moved on in general - respect, tolerance and inclusion towards different races, religions and cultures became an important vector of human civilisation development towards a better and heathier society.
Even without the current events in Ukraine, both Brat movies no longer relevant and actually cannot impact anyone in a positive way. Danila can not be and should not be a role model.
Whilst being truthful is important, the attitude of the main character towards other nations and even people within the same country sort of elevates the "true" Russian nature above others, and that itself smells of Nazism.
Brat was a prophetic film. And of course it is still relevant. In Danila's values and worldview, Balabanov was laying down the template for what Russia needed to save itself. And indeed those values were in a rough sense what Putin did in fact use to save Russia. And with the West facing a decline that looks as if it will be just as bad if not worse than the collapse that Russia faced in the 1990's, the universal nature of these values should be appreciated. We in the West can also save ourselves by channeling our inner Danilia.
@@scottwillie6389 Epic.
"Truth is more powerful than money."
Great point. So how about the Russian government admit they are fighting a war? Not a 'special military operation'? The truth is important, right?
If Russia ever transitions from Special Operation to War, you will know it. You realize Russia could reduce Kiev to ruble in a day if they wanted to, right? Russia has not mobilized its military, it has not made any significant use of its long range strategic bombers, and it has gone to great pains to avoid destroying civilian infrastructure. Special Operation is truthful language. And we should all pray to God that Russia never escalates to a full blown war because that would be very bad for everyone.
@@scottwillie6389 Ah, "ruzzia is actually strong". Keep hearing same bs for 3 month. Motherfucker could start real war, but can't because it wouldn't help and make him look as a weakling if he screws full war. ruzzia can't fucking get control of the sky and that's why it can't use said bombers, because those would get hit if they go beyond controled zones.
@@scottwillie6389 gone to great pains to not damage civilian infrastructure by bombing civilians on day 1.
Cope harder zzombie
@@scottwillie6389 no matter what way russia comes out of this war it still loses And thats just a fact.
Roman U need to comment on Boris Bondarev, The senior russian diplomat at the UN..
Good topic, witty review. You make good stuff 👍
I just watched your video on how GTA 4 was inspired by russian movies and then i saw this video,im glad i just waited till now to watch it because those 2 tie in togheter well.
For added weirdness, rewatching Madam Secretary with the wife recently has been an absolute trip. Like...100% of that show's events happened backwards. Including what you mentioned about the random mysterious Ukrainian magic mafia that can somehow hack AF1, because that's just a thing they can do. It's so bizarre.
omg its the famous coffee potato
@@dskdev Well there's an unexpected recognition 🤣. Hi there
I don't know if any episodes of Vzglyad have english subs, but anyone who saw Sergei in this program can't forget what a warm person he was. Not perfect, but nobody is - using dead peoples quotes out of contecst is vile.
Side note Vladimir Mashkov's track jacket in Behind Enemy Lines was siiiiick
That sucks, I hate it when things that I hold close are ruined by the crowd
I have read that one of the first differences that took place in Russian culture between the 90s and 00s is that Russians started to believe in their own bullshit. I always thought the Brat films are a great illustration of this. Danila spouted off a lot of nationalist BS in the first movie, but nobody was supposed to take it seriously. You can tell by how hollow the movie makes his xenophobic chest-thumping to be. However, by the second movie, released in 1999, you can start to see a change in tone. You still get the brothers acting like idiots, but it tends to work out in the end, and then there is the one-sided dialogue featured in the video. Russians were becoming ready to believe their own bullshit again.
Putin to a large degree did utilize the values and world view espoused by Danilia to miraculously save Russian society from a complete collapse and restore Russia to great power status. The Second Chechen War was formally won by Russia just a year after Brat 2 was released. The Sevastopol line in the second film was a throwaway joke but just 15 years later Crimea indeed would return to the Russian Federation.
ruzzian imperialism is in their DNA since 18th century. There's no saving them.
Laserpig loop.
Russia: “money is not power, truth is power”
Also Russia: **is broke, loses war, lies about it** 🤣
You will be surprised but Russians have different mentality as they "live by ponyatiya" which means to live by unwritten but generally accepted laws. Most of us never had money or car or owned house. To understand this you have to be born here.
@@TheAntsh 90% of people who talk about this shit don't actually follow their own rules. They just pretend to be smart
@@tanker00v25 what shit? Are you Russian? Do you understand what 'truth' (ponyatiya) here means?
This didn't age well for you😂
hey roman, i noticed you visited a soviet car graveyard in georgia, well it's not all just misery and abandoned cars, there is also a soviet car museum in georgia, and i remember this one car that you can drive with just your hands and the reason for this was because during ww2 a lot of people had their legs cut off, there are more interesting cars there so definetly check it out
I got into Balabanov recently. Most of his films are on Mubi at the moment. I enjoyed Brother 1 & 2. Cargo 200 and Morphine are also great.