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: [email protected] Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/russophilesunite Instagram: www.instagram.com/russophiles_unite/ Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/Ally_Pitts/ Find Ally's other podcast appearances at: https://www.podchaser.com/creators/alistair-pitts-107ZzmUqmI