The series "Brigada": reviews, facts, opinion of Americans

At the crossroads of two eras, of the '90s and 2000she domestic cinematography had a bright handwriting, its own character, which causes today's viewer an irresistible desire to revisit the films of those years. Yes: they were mostly criminal, gangster and rather gloomy. Yes: the plot centered on devastation and social inequality, which became the anchor of the New Russia. However - therein lies the enchantment movie projects of that time, because nothing more realistic, worldly and atmospheric was not filmed in our country anymore (well, as it seems to us). One of these romanticized gangster masterpieces was the TV series "Brigade." - is already a cult classic that's been read by even in the West!

Over the course of 15 episodes, the viewer watches as the four friends - Sasha Bely, Phil, Cosmos and Bee. - from backyard boys to criminal bosses. There is a place for the most different, but equally relevant themes, such as love and friendship, honor and karma... Americans have dubbed Alexei Sidorov's creation "Russian gangster saga."Sidorov himself noted the obvious inspiration of "The Godfather" and "Once Upon a Time in America". However, Sidorov himself did not hide the Western influence on his project, which, in any case, is steeped in the spirit of the New Russia of the 90s....

"Emotion is the ultimate key to success": a review from FUZZ MUSIC

The series "Brigada" is already more than 20 years old, but the public still remembers and loves it. Quite a rare phenomenon for the domestic cinematography of those years - rather Exceptionthan the rule. Most of what was filmed in the 90's - 2000's, turned out to be passable video material, which the general public today and will not remember - what is the movie as it was called, and who played who in it. However, in the case of "Brigada" everything is different: even a modern teenager knows Sasha Whiteas well as catchphrases such as "For every tough fighter, there's a tougher one" or "Never think or speak ill of your friends!".

Well remembered by people and actors, many of whom were quite new to the industry. But why is that? Why did some movies seem to fly by, while others crashed into the minds of viewers for years to come, and even resonated with the younger generation and Western audiences?

As it seems to us - the secret of the success of "Brigada" is that this screen story simply can not leave the indifferent no one. Yes, not everyone will understand everything (especially Americans). Yes, some really important episodes raise a lot of questions and remain misunderstood because of the stilted presentation, while the director decided to pay much more attention to insignificant scenes. But the narrative itself, the atmosphere, the characters themselves - all this leaves a lasting impression. You can't get it out of your head! And what do you think? What caught you in this series? Share your impressions in the comments.

Record budget

At that time, domestic directors, for the most part, suffered from a lack of money. Funding was more than modest - the only thing left to hope for was rich sponsors. And in this regard, "Brigada" was very lucky: the total amount spent on the creation of the series was about 3 million dollars - so each episode cost almost 200,000 greenbacks. A truly record budget by the standards of those years! No wonder that all the scenes were filmed so spectacularly and on such a large scale....

Of course, the status of the most expensive Russian TV series gave rise to many rumors, speculations and legends as to where Sidorov got such money! Some have speculated that the project was sponsored by the real criminal mastermindswho supposedly wanted to tell the general public about the romance and tragedy of their lives. Who knows?

An uneasy relationship between the actors

Human relationships are a very complicated thing. But so much depends on it - especially when it comes to making a movie. After all, if the actors don't get along, what kind of on-screen chemistry can we talk about? To bring the "four friends" closer together, the director sent the main roles out of town. The plan paid off, and the guys really found common ground, which benefited their on-camera relationship....

Few people know, but the fight scene between White and Fly was... absolutely real! What exactly the actors did not share - remains a mystery. However, their fist fight lasted as long as 8 hoursand ended up really hurting the guys....

But the most complicated relationship was between Sergei Bezrukov and Ekaterina Gusevahis character's wife. The fact that their couple looked so realistic on the screen, that after the release of the series, the actors began to attribute the novel - what can you do, people love our people gossip. Both artists at that time were in a relationship with other people, and therefore such rumors they did not like very much. Against this background, Guseva even refused for a long time to star with Bezrukov in the same projects - despite the fact that such proposals came.

The Americans were surprised

The excitement around "The Brigade" was so big, it got to the point to the West! Of course, many Americans saw this series only after many years - most likely thanks to the Internet, where "Brigada" has become a phenomenon and exploded into clips, cuts and memes. And here, in fact, what impressions this series has made on Western friends....

"I have been a Russophile since childhood. So any material that helps me immerse myself in Russia is dear to me. However, while I'm not interested in criminal and gangster stuff at all, I just can't forget Brigada. Given the fact that my country is also going through a turbulent period, I'm always worried, like a young person who doesn't know what the future will bring. Almost all of my conversations with my Russian friends at some point boil down to the following: "Dude, you're learning Russian. You watched Brigada and saw how it was in the '90s. But see, we're all alive and well now. Don't worry, countries and people are going through hard times!" and then the Brigada theme song starts playing in my head. Sorry to sound like a nervous teenager, but that's how much I love that show..."

 

"It dramatically popularized the criminal lifestyle among teenagers. It would have been better if the series had not existed. It was literally funded by gangsters to look more humane in the eyes of the population they were actively robbing on a daily basis..."

 

"I wonder why this series hasn't become so popular in other countries yet? It really impressed me, it evokes a lot of emotions..."