Brigada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
| Brigada | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Aleksei Sidorov |
| Produced by | Valeri Todorovsky and Anatoly Sivushov |
| Written by | Igor Poroblyov and Aleksei Sidorov |
| Starring | Sergei Bezrukov Dmitry Dyuzhev Vladimir Vdovichenkov Pavel Maikov Yekaterina Guseva |
| Distributed by | Beta Film GmbH |
| Release date(s) | 2002 |
| Running time | 750 min. |
| Language | Russian |
Brigada (Russian: Бригада), also known as Law of the Lawless, was a Russian crime miniseries which debuted in 2002. It became very popular and received great reviews. The miniseries follows the story of four best friends from 1989 to 2000, mainly concentrating on the leader of the group, Sasha Belov, played by Sergei Bezrukov. The fifteen part miniseries was written by Igor Porublyov and Aleksei Sidorov and was directed by Aleksei Sidorov.
[edit] Plot
Sasha Belov has just returned from the army back to his hometown (Moscow). He is greeted by his three lifelong friends, Kosmos, Pchela, and Fil. Leaving for the service Sasha leaves a girlfriend, when he returns he learns that she is now with a pimp/gangster Muha- a well known gang leader even to Kosmas and Pchela. Push comes to shove and Sasha Belov calls in a 1-on-1 fight with Muha. Sasha wins the fight and ends his own relationship with his girlfriend for good.
Later on Fil is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and is recommended to stop boxing; however, the doctor is involved in underground boxing ring and advises him to go there and make some money while he can. The Brigada (Sasha, Fil, Pchela, Kosmos) goes there and meets Muha, a brawl starts and Muha is killed (later we discover that Kosmos killed him).
Up to this point there were no criminal thoughts in Sash’s mind, all he wanted is to go to university and lead a regular life opposing to the criminal suggestions of Kosmos.
That next morning a Detective shows up at Sasha's appartnment pinning the murder of Muha on Sasha. He is forced into hiding and his friends help him hide while they try to solve what had happened (Muha was a relative of a Detective that will become the catalysis for Sasha Belov). Later on he meets a wonderful clean cut girl by the name Olya, they start their affair but she soon realizes that there is a nation wide manhunt for him and she runs away from him (later on they get married and have a child). Soon there after the hideout is raided by the police and Sasha gets wounded, bleeding he swears that he will never abandon, mistrust, and disrespect his friends even if it costs him his life. Kosmos's father helps Sasha to avoid jail but he is forced to leave Moscow for 1.5 years. After that they begin their criminal career.
During the next episodes you see how Brigada's criminal activities come to life, and evolve from petty racketeering of market sales men to newly created companies to drugs to selling guns to the Chechens. During that whole time the Detective (the one with whom everything begun) changes his sides from the law, to the thieves from the thieves to Sasha and so on and so forth...
At some joint arms sales between the Detective and Sasha a mishap occurs and the deal gets raided by Russian Special Forces. The detective survives but decided to disappear for some time.
Meanwhile the empire of Sasha grows and Fil sips into a coma from an assassination attempt. They become a bit high on all the power they acquired and start to fall apart as a group and individuals.
The years pass and Sasha decides to become involved with russian politics. He runs for the Parliament Duma deputy against a newly revived and vengeful Detective who shares similar views. Through several dirty tricks and well planned advertising and campaigning, Sasha wins narrowly. The Detective calls upon a sleeper agent whom he implanted in Sash’s organization a long time ago to assassinate Kosmos, Pchela and comatose Fil. Sasha furious wants retaliation; However, his government handler, the thieves and everyone else asks him to hold while they find the people responsible. At the grand funeral Sasha stages his death and hides his wife and kid in the USA. Soon thereafter he assassinates everyone responsible for his friend’s death and the series end.
[edit] Characters
Sasha Belov- The leader of the Brigada. He is smart and very business oriented but has numerous vices, such as infidelity. He cares deeply for his three friends and when one of them is considered to be a traitor, he refuses to believe it.
Fil- After Sasha he seems to be the most level-headed member of the group. He is a boxer early on and then becomes a stunt man. After a failed assassination attempt, he goes into a long coma for several years.
Kosmos- The comic relief of the group. He's also the flashiest one. Later in the series Sasha finds it hard to trust Kosmos but ultimately they remain good friends. He develops a serious cocaine problem.
Pchela- Or Bee, is the quiet soft spoken member of the group. He is successful with women yet very confused sometimes. After what seemed like a treacherous act on his part, Sasha forgave him and ultimately discovered who the real perpetrator was.
Olya- Sasha's wife and only love. Throughout the decade they have their share of domestic squabbles, some more serious than others, but by the end they solidify their love. She is a violinist and was raised by her grandmother.
The Detective- He is the perpetual villain throughout the series. He sort of comes and goes. In the beginning he is a corrupt cop who fails to nail Sasha. This drives him nearly mad and he decides to join up with Sasha's gang later on to wreak vengeance. He never got the chance as he was nearly killed in Chechnya and forced to stay with the military and lay low. He is a very slimy and snake-like character whose only drive is to kill Sasha Belov.
[edit] Sequel
The author of the original book wrote a series of sequel novels which had Sasha start a new gang but it was met with lack luster reviews by critics who said there was no chemistry between Sasha and the new gang like there was between him, Pchela, Kosmos, and Fil. However the book is still considered an interesting read for whomever enjoyed the first part.
