Bimmer (2003)

In many comments this film is compared to 'Brigada' - a Russian gang-type TV series, but to me it's rather a Russian version of Tarantino's 'Reservoir Dogs'... The similarities are striking, the number of main characters(all criminals), the plot, the slang, continuous throughout the movie reminiscences by main characters to the beginning of the story, the ending(almost cloned)... Certainly 'Bumer' is a Russian movie with emphasis on many peculiarities of nowadays Russia's life and I honor it as a masterpiece of it's own, and I really enjoyed it, but inadvertently comparing to the Tarantino's movie(which is a great film by all means) it's hard to ignore many weaknesses of 'Bumer', most of all - the actors' work.

This film is part of the new generation of Eastern European gangster films. In the vein of "Pusher", and "Brother", the director leads you through the gritty and chaotic world of the Russian mafia. The characters are original and memorable, and the cast does an excellent job.The story revolves around four close-knit gang members and their stolen Beemer (the title of the film is the Russian-language equivalent of the word "Beemer", or BMW). The four have to leave Moscow for a while and lay low, and so ride the beemer out of town. These black-leather wearing slick New Russian boys contrast heavily with the provincial Russians whom they encounter along the way. The polarization of Russian society is clearly visible, and the film I think makes this one of its central themes.Overall, I rate this film highly.

This movie is inevitably compared to "The Brigade", a major hit TV show about gangsters in Russia. I personally don't think it's quite fair, because "Bumer" is so much more intelligent. I don't even feel like the movie is about mafia, but about life in general. Its message: Whatever you do, will come back haunting you.The main characters are shot by the cops in a tiny town and there's hardly a single person in the world (except for the one friend), who will remember them. I don't think one of the guys' wife will really have many good things to say about him. But its not only gangsters that are the bad people and are being punished. The truck driver is left paralyzed for the rest of his life. The kid who turns to crime is murdered, something happens to the corrupt cops as well (I can't exactly remember what)... On the other hand, the girl in the village and the guy who loves her end up together, raising the kid. That's because they are "honest people".This what the movie is all about I think and the reason the makers show what happens to the different characters later on. Thus, "Bumer" is an honest movie with a good message (while not a very deep one). It basically tells you: If you do "bad things", you'll get punished. "The Brigade" of course doesn't carry any message and is romanticizing gangsters, which is IMO kind of silly and inappropriate in modern day Russia.

This is a brilliant Russian movie. Great and very realistic plot (lots of cursing, deaths), awesome music (both Ruissan hip-hop and Mahler), good actors(including the star from "Brigada". But the best thing is that this movie realistically displays modern Russia - crooked cops, gangs on every corner, a step to anarchy...