Brother (Alexei Balabanov; 1997)

Mark Bullen, author, former police officer, and expert on Russian organised crime joins Ally Pitts to discuss iconic '90s neo-noir crime drama Brother.

It stars Sergei Bodrov Jr, Viktor Sukhorukov, Svetlana Pismichenko, Yury Kuznetsov, and Sergei Murzin.

CONTENT WARNING: In the film, it is implied that a male character rapes a female character off-screen.

SPOILERS from about 32 minutes in until the end.

Mark's book Thief in Law, which is a guide to the tattoos and culture of Russian-speaking organised criminal gangs is available from Schiffer Books in the United States: www.schifferbooks.com/thief-in-law-a-guide-to-russian-prison-tattoos-and-russian-speaking-organized-crime-6499.html

Support the show/fund Ally's caffeine habit at: ko-fi.com/russophilesunite

The show's intro music is Cold by Sasha Ilyukevich and the Highly Skilled Migrants.

You can find more of their music at: https://thehighlyskilledmigrants.bandcamp.com/ or on Spotify.

If you'd like to get in touch and tell us what you thought of the film and/or the podcast episode, it would be great to hear from you! Here are some ways you can do that:

Twitter: @RussophilesU

Email: russophilesunite@gmail.com

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Find Ally's other podcast appearances at: https://www.podchaser.com/creators/alistair-pitts-107ZzmUqmI