By its very existence justifying the ephemeral existence of Russian cinema before the face of eternity.
In theaters is the documentary film by Grigory Selyanov and Anna Selyanova "Brother Forever," dedicated, as one can easily guess from the title, to Alexei Balabanov. Moscow film critic Mikhail Trofimenkov commented on this:
"Almost every film about Balabanov (1959–2013) begins, as legend has it, with the arrival of a train. Only the train does not arrive at the southern French station of La Ciotat, as in the Lumière brothers' film (1896), but at the Vitebsk Station in St. Petersburg, to spit out on the platform the people's brother Danila Bagrov.
'Brother Forever' is no exception. Except that the arrival of the train is preceded by the triumphant appearance of the 'engineer' of Balabanov's express, producer Sergey Selyanov, hugging Oleg Garkusha, who starred in the director's last film "I Also Want" (2012).
What can you do? In the public consciousness, Balabanov is associated only with the duology "Brother" (1997) and "Brother-2" (2000). So the very inclusion of the word 'brother' in the title should guarantee viewer interest.
Yes, of course, Balabanov, more than any other director, managed to hear the music of the great and terrible 1990s, an era that, as Nikita Mikhalkov says in the film, was 'a humiliating time of burst hopes' and a criminal civil war of all against all.
On the other hand, this is cruelly unfair, as Balabanov is immeasurably more than the author of films about the Russian 'Robin Hood,' a killer with the face of a boy from a good family, whose phenomenon was yearned for by millions humiliated and insulted by the era. His other masterpieces remain outside the film — and Balabanov did not make anything but masterpieces, justifying the ephemeral existence of Russian cinema before the face of eternity. From "Happy Days" (1991) to "The Stoker" (2010), from the unfinished film due to tragic circumstances (the death of the actress in the lead role) "The River" (2002) to "Morphia" (2008).
It would seem that the documentary 'balabanoviana' in our cinema is quite large and dates back to Vladimir Nepevny's film "How 'Brother-2' Was Made" (2000). But, in fact, only one film has been made about the real, great Balabanov — "Balabanov. Bell Tower. Requiem" (2022) by Lyubov Arkus. Exquisitely made and unbearably heartbreaking: here loud words about the quiet director are appropriate, as it is about his fading away.
There is a film by Konstantin Smilgi "Alexei Balabanov. Afterword" (2023), but this is more of a feature-length interview with the director. There is an excellent work by Petr Shepotinnik "We Will Not Be Others" (2021), where Balabanov appears, but the film is focused on Sergey Bodrov, again on the 'brother.' Well, brother is brother. Well, the arrival of the train is the arrival. Let's go. "Brother Forever" gives a patchwork feeling. Words that we have heard or read about Balabanov in other films, TV shows, and books, and excerpts from films are combined with truly new, but in the overall patchiness, losing materials.
The montage contrast in the discussion about the choice of Sergey Bodrov for the lead role is curious. Nadezhda Vasilieva, the costume designer and Balabanov's wife, exclaims: the entire revolutionary meaning of the film was in Bodrov's intelligent face. And immediately — in a cut — Bodrov himself in sunglasses is mumbling something with a feigned streetwise intonation. And immediately Lisa Jeffries, who played an African American journalist in "Brother-2," compares Bodrov to Tom Cruise.
Irina Saltykova revels in herself. The great cameraman Sergey Astakhov appears in an old photograph as a cheerful hippie: no, not 'hippie,' Vasilieva corrects, but 'left-handed.' Selyanov smiles as he recalls how after "Brother" some at "Lenfilm" (Alexei German) dubbed him and Balabanov as unshakeable 'fascists.' And they sincerely had fun, trolling ideological purists who dodged their embraces.
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