Bumer: Film vtoroy

Do not expect this movie to be similar to the first "Bumer". Coz it is not. You better try to think of it as the one trying to become more mature, like a teenager trying to grow up. I guess it did. Though, with doing so, by becoming "smarter", it also became somewhat boring. It felt like the movie lacks some rhythm, some drive, which made the first one the classics of its genre. I'm not saying Bumer 2 was bad, because it wasn't. It was just…I don't know…weak? Unshaped? Misguided? Actors weren't pathetic, but it certainly wasn't enough. The plot was OK, but it lacked sense. Some important thoughts were brought up, but the development of those was totally lacking. Sad enough, but the four mobsters on their BMW made a far greater impact...

While Bumer 1 was a trivial gangster movie with not much substance, Bumer 2 (or Heaven on Earth) is a mark of a genius. It is very subtle and to an unsuspecting viewer it may seem not much. There is a plot but not much action: no flying bullets, no blood and no revenge.

Nevertheless, today I watched it for the third time and it was even better then the first two. Do you have to be familiar with the Russian culture to understand it? Not really. If you ever felt like the system's got you or if you felt like there is no way out - you'd get it, I promise.

One of my favorite movies so far.

1) Why did they kill the real brother of Dasha?

In order not to pay to Dasha's brother, whose term was almost over, for replacing Kot (and Dasha's brother might not have agreed to spend 12 more years in prison). Also they would have to spare few hundred $ to get a new passport for Kot, but here they got it for free - all they needed is to replace Kot's photo in Dasha's brother passport.

2) Who the hell would want to kill Kot?

The same prison authorities. They are afraid that Kot may get caught for new crimes and when his fingerprints are matched with computer database they may bring his real name, and then their little business would be uncovered, and they are in trouble. But they can't kill Kot before he meets Dimon 'The Scalded' (who obviously paid for his freedom), so that's why they waited until after that meeting.

3) Kot wanted to start over but wouldn't it be easier to sell his half of car show room than let the girl rob tourist agency?

He can't even sell a single car - the one they are driving - because it was in the police database as being looked for. Regarding the car show room, after the death of Dimon it is unlikely that Kot may get anything for his 50% of Dimon's business - nobody except Dimon knew who he was, besides Kot was officially dead. Dimon might not have known the exact details of how Kot was freed and that now he is going under the name of Dasha's brother, and didn't make the changes necessary to make Dasha's brother a co-owner.

4) When he met her, why didn't he just tell her the truth straight away?

Kot waited Dasha to calm down before he announces that her brother is dead and that he, Kot, is indirectly responsible for his death.

First, i must say that I really enjoyed watching the Bumer. It was an interesting and original experience of Russian cinema. In short, it's one of the best movies from Russia I have ever seen (the other one for me could be 9-ya rota so far). Therefore I went to cinema with high expectations. After watching this flick of Buslov there was not a frustration, but i realized that sequel did not manage to achieve the superb level of its predecessor. More or less this was completely another kind of story. Of course, there is a strong connection with events of the first film, though you are free to watch it even if you have not seen the first Bumer. It's not a flawless movie. There were several short disturbing ''black breaks'', which made Bumer: Film vtoroy a bit spotty. Also this made the plot scattered. One excellent thing about this is soundtrack. It's truly outstanding. With scenes of todays Russia, witty dialogs, tragicomic story - it is a good movie and a must-see for fans of Bumer, although some of them may be disappointed.

Sequels are always a dilemma for directors, it's very easy to miss and Buslov gets a lot of credit for moving straight into a sequel as his next feature project.

Instead of returning to the same old story twice, Buslov wisely chose to make the story about redemption and effectively introduced a new lead in the form of Dasha, a girl that seems fated to repeat the footsteps of Kostya's gang and played masterfully by Svetlana Ustinova.

The story is sufficiently realistic, though he takes a few more chances than with the original there are no holes or dilemmas that would irritate. Casting is very high caliber and the music doesn't fail to deliver again. Cinematographically Buslov evolved to a slightly faster paced style, there is less moving camera than with the original Boomer (something I personally enjoyed), but close ups are very effectively utilized. On the other end, one or two sequences are overextended time wise, but not to the point of irritation.

Note: unlike with the Brother films of Balabanov, it does help to see Boomer 1 prior to watching this film.