MovieChat Forums > Brat 2 (2000) Discussion > racist and full of plot holes

racist and full of plot holes


I simply cannot find much good to say about this movie besides its surface level entertainment value. Balabanov is clearly a racist, and if you read the fantastic article on the film's official website (in Russian) you will find statements that are simply not true about American race relations. At one point he claims that the word "watermellon" has become taboo here... I personally have never encountered a problem with the word "watermellon" and attach no race related meaning to it at all. He presumes to speak for Americans when he knows nothing. He is also woefully uninformed about the welfare system and affirmative action, obviously having read a handful of reactionary articles without doing any research into statistics. For example, half of Americans on welfare are white. The dialogue about how black people are closer to their natural instincts, and that's why they are so angry and powerful, is about on level with calling them animals. Maybe that's the Russian way of looking at it, but political correctness aside, that's racist. Issues of race aside, the movie was full of plot holes and loose ends. Danila kills a lot of henchmen, including shooting an innocent black man in the face because Danila doesn't want to pay for an illegal gun. But leaves the mob boss alive in the end, just as he seems to forget about justice for his murdered army buddy. In the latter case, he also lets the man responsible go, and never thinks about it again after he leaves for America. In between, you other posters are right, he doesn't sleep with any models. Instead he sleeps with television icons from Russian pop culture and the Chicago news. Why? Who knows, and furthermore, who cares. The most I got out of the film was, Russians are as clueless and ignorant about America as Americans are about Russia. If you feel like watching a Chechen war veteran wander the streets of Chicago killing nameless, faceless criminals usually without any real reason, and ultimately get to see him let all the bad men who are really responsible walk free, then please enjoy the film.

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[deleted]

Brat 2. how about yourself?

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Your foreneighrs ... the movie is about ppl just like you...

...pizdetz...

Don't watch Russian movies... especially new ones. They tend to portray the world as how it really is and burst the reality of the American bubble.

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[deleted]

I don't know about Balabanov but I am sure that Danila's character was supposed to be a racist. And Balabanov is a great director because he made this bastar d be loved by so much people. Russians, I am sorry to destroy your hero but not only is Danila racist but he's evil too.

In the first Brat, when Danila encounters the german old guy he says that he can't stand jews. And in the second Brat he buys weapons from a Nazi!!

In Brat 2, what about the prostitute, he doesn't sleep with the russian woman, but even wounded he doesn't hesitate to f uck the black woman, even if he does still have his girlfriend waiting for him.

When is Danila evil?

Is it good morality for russians to commit adultery with someone else's woman? I am asking because in Brat 1, Daniila does it. Didn't the poet Pouchkin died because someone was courting his wife ? I guess heroes in Russia changed since this time. And if someone argues that Sveta was being beated by her husband, i say it's ok to commit adultery when the partner is being beaten by her legal companion?

In this same film, while he is still in love with Sveta he doesn't hesitate to party with some young prostitute, who does anything for money.

And then, when Sveta chases him out of her apartment because this hero thinks he can arrange everything with a gun shot, Daniila says to his german friend, "You said that the city was though, she would eat me alive, but i've only seen weak people". Let me tell you that Sveta had more guts than this moro n, because she expulsed not a hero but an assassin. For me she was stronger than him.

I guess, too, it's great for a russian hero to kill unarmed men. Western duels have to be boring in Russia. I say that because in Brat 1, Danila disarmed his assassins (like him, so being assassin is not an excuse to be killed that way) companions to be sure he will kill them. this is so heroic.
And in Bat 2 he does it again when robbing the guns from the gun dealer.

In conclusion, I am glad there will be no more Daniila Bagrov, he was not a good example. If you russian people want a hero, just watch Stalker. But I am sad too because there will be no more good soundtrack and photography.

Prosti menya potomou chto Ya lioubliou Rossia no ya nie lioubliou plojaii liudii.

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Russians are not ignorant about america, russians do whatever they please... they tend to be slightly racist as well, true.
This film was fun though

Besides, almose EVERY SINGLE film made by americans about other countries has dead wrong ideas too...

t'ain't no sin to take off your skin and dance around in your bones

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i meantioned that..

"The most I got out of the film was, Russians are as clueless and ignorant about America as Americans are about Russia."

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What I meant was that russians aren't clueless and ignorant, most of them anyway... definitely not clueless. But they pretend a lot!


t'ain't no sin to take off your skin and dance around in your bones

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[deleted]

what's that got to do with anythin?



t'ain't no sin to take off your skin and dance around in your bones

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I think we're confusing racism with ignorance here. Most racists live in America, they know ppl of different races and hate them. Russians on the other hand live in a completely 'white' society. They hate what they don't know. And the movie? The movie is vivid, funny and totally making fun of Russian nature as well as American habits. I think to portray ppl like this one needs to be an excellent observer.

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How come Russians live in a completely white society if the indigenous population of almost all of their colonies in Asia is non-white? Save for a couple of small countries in the central part of Eastern Europe, no white societies exist in the world. The Russians are simply pretty open about their opinion on other races, while Western Europeans and North Americans are reluctant to express their thoughts in this respect.

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[deleted]

Americans are the racists...

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Americans are as racist if not more. Just russians are more honest about it.

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It's a Holliwood practice to make film with pure good and pure bad characters. Life is not Holliwood film, a real man has good and bad sides at the same time. ;-)

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As for me I'm sad that Sergey Bodrov Jr(Danila) died.

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Me too - he was a great actor. I think he died during filming right?

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yes, avalanche....:(

although last i heard they didnt find a body...but i havent looked at anything lately...maybe there's hope..

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My Russian Cinema prof actually has a t-shirt that has "Bodrov Lives" on it (only, you know, in Russian)

"You're too young to understand it now, but nothing can kill a show like too much exposition."

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[deleted]

ebing rascist about jews is a russian inside joke. as in- he doesn't care for germans, even after WWII, but he cares about jews. as for him being evil?..hahaha..this movie is not about heroism, or the first one- its about the state that the russian have been driven to by this times with our system. this movie is for ppl who lived there and understand it. and i mean lived there in fear- of being jacked, beaten, loose job, pretty much- who was russian in the '90s. and ya americans are not the ones to tell us off for violent films, *beep* not even gonna attempt to mention them, i know too many. oh, as far as pushkin- he cheated on his wife constantly tambien. quit biatching- this film is pretty much a response to all the dubass ways that russia's been shown in the past 60 years in hollywood- with a vengeance!

Time is Luck. The Luck has ran out.

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[deleted]

Why do you judge the movie value on whether the lead character is a good role model or not?

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HaHa. That was funny. I live in Chicago and it definatly is not a dump. Learn to speak english before writing an uneducated post about black people.

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[deleted]

Haha. I've been there and most of it is.

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Have you never heard the terms "Watermelon eating" ... and "friend chicken eating".... in reference to black people?

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I'm sorry that reality had to come in and hurt your poor, frail mind. I'll let the rest of the world know that you need the "special" treatment.

Frank Zappa, rubber bands, and something to do with koala bears in Italian igloos, because "peace, love, and happiness" is over-rated.

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First: I'm not black. I'm 100% white european by descent. and I'm in college, not on welfare.
Second: I think you've demonstrated the attitude of the film quite well, thank you.
Third: Black people in america are POORER than the white population, making them more apt to commit crimes. They also get paid less than whites because of social stigmas like yours. american cops are NOTORIOUSLY racist, which also helps account for the high percentage of blacks in american prisons.

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As to the cops - it isn't racism, it is PROFILING, and is an internationally accepted professional law enforcement technique, where people of low-income, uneducated classes, who, as stastics prove, are much more likely to commit petty crimes, get more attention from police than white-collar workers.

I assure you that, if a cop decided to search someone at a gas station at midnight, he would go for the white guy driving an old Chevy, in dirty clothes associated with some youth or music subculture, NOT the black guy in an Armani suit driving a BMW, and would be correct to do so.

Immaculately, neatly dressed people in expensive cars don't commit armed robbery against law-abiding citizens when short in cash for their next dose of junk... Misbehaved, aggressive youths, whose very appearance is repulsive or even offensive to your average grandma, however, sometimes ARE a menace to society.

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no one cares about the average grandma. whats wrong with you?

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Think about it a little more. Profiling is in essence racism.

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[deleted]

Dude, the attitude in the movie is very hard to explain. You think the director is uninformed? Remember the movie called "Red Heat"?

Danila is a simple russian guy with conservative views. He has no formal education and doesn't endulge in the pop culture(he didn't know who Saltykova or Al Cappone were). He knows nothing about politics, and doesn't really care much for them. He has no idea what to do with his money, and just spends it(according to one scene, he squandered most of the cash that he got in the first film). He carries a torch of truth and honor, or at least he believes so, and these things are incompatible with the modern world. All these factors make him very naive, thick headed, and completely oblivious. That's why he lacks political corectness. He might have some skeletons in the closet, but in a way he's innocent like a child.

He's proud to be Russian and remains patriotic, despite all the horrors and mistreatment that he endured at home. He's also cheated by Kuybishev(he sold him the car), and Mitya won't let him stay at his place even though he came to America to help him. Even the commentaries by the taxi drivers don't change Danila's views on his people and homeland, he has a lot of faith in both. In a way he represents the Russian heart. Alot of Russians emigrated to America in the 90's, so maybe Balabanov is trying to comment on that too.

Babalonov is not trying to promote racism or violence. It's just a backdrop. Danila is pretty much an anti-hero. In a way he reminds me of Forrest Gump, who was also compeltely oblivious to his surroundings.

Oh, and the reason that Danila didn't kill those other "bad men" is because he Kostya asked him to help his bother. So he wasn't really motivated by revenge; he was on a quest of truth and honor. Also he told Belkin that he'll let him live because he doesn't want his son to be without a father, and we don't really know what he did to Mennis. Maybe he whacked him after all.

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That was perfectly phrased.

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BTW, a good way to identify a quality director is when his characters, even the protagonists, may have entirely different views or values than himself.

Balabanov isn't racist, but some of his characters are. Actually, let me re-phrase that - Balabanov may or may not be racist, but one or two of his characters being racist has nothing to do with his opinion of african-americans.

A later film of his, Zhmurki, had an african-russian, and one of the central jokes of the film was that all ignorant characters would call him ethiopian, and he would respond in perfect Russian, and say "screw you, i'm Russian". To an American, that would be shocking, that would be a racist film; yet, for a Russian, who isn't so neurotically obsessed with political correctness, that is a DISPLAY of ignorance, racism, or simply a lack of sense of humour in certain CHARACTERS.

...plus, no matter how much anyone says here, no sane Russian will EVER understand - WHY do you CARE?! Now, if someone stepped up and said "I'm black and that film offended me", I would understand, if his friends supported him - I would understand... But don't you lot think it highly ridiculous that a bunch of obviously white people are arguing about whether or not the film offends blacks?! Gods, GO ASK SOMEONE WHO IS BLACK AND UNBIASED, end of story.

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Good post, a-a-d.

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