The Ballad of Bering Strait

The documentary is not bad, but I wish it had more on the individual band members and their Russian background. What we get are the trials and tribulations of trying to record a country music album during upheavals in the country music industry with companies and recording contracts. For much of what happens this could be almost any band, American or non-American.

I had the feeling the documentary was made partly as a promotional device to advertise the band as they were stuck in a kind of limbo during much of the movie. That would explain the lack of film prior to their arrival in the U.S. What little was filmed in Russia appeared to be when band members went back to visit family.

This is not to say the band members are not good, they are. Their music mostly sounds like top 40 country music of the time - the early part of this decade. I enjoyed the one song they played in concert that showcased their Russian background.

I would have liked more on the individual band members. Probably part of this lack of depth is that these are teenagers after all. Add in that they are non-US people and not so used to self analysis and expressing their emotions to strangers. I don't think the filmmakers really ever got close to the band members.

There is such a thing as a "Russian soul" and a Russian characteristic of fatalism and accepting one's fate. I know as I have Russian ancestors. I saw a glimpse of that in several of the young men's comments after the fire and their frustration in not moving forward with their career. I would have like the filmmaker to spent more time on showing how being Russian affected the kids outlook and decisions, at least more so than being homesick and having to contend with Visa restrictions on work.

Unfortunately it appears the documentary ends before Bering Strait's success and eventual breakup. Wikipedia has some interesting info on the band and what the members are up to now. A positive thing about this documentary is that it got me interested in the band and their fate and I went searching for more info.

Most American country music bands and groups find it difficult to break through the glass ceiling that is the Nashville recording industry. But it's infinitely harder for a band that comes from a country where English isn't exactly a prominent language--especially when that country is one that America had missiles pointed at for forty years. This is the saga told here in THE BALLAD OF BERING STRAIT.

The film tells us of the long four-year struggle of Bering Strait, a sextet of young Russian musicians with a passion for American bluegrass and contemporary country music who kept tenaciously struggling to break into the American market. And as talented as all of them were, particularly co-lead vocalist Natasha Borzilova, banjo player Ilya Toshinsky, and steel player Sasha Ostrovsky, the very fact that they were Russian meant that there was no way people weren't going to see them as something of a novelty. But a look into their background, conducted by director Nina Gilden Seavey, and their musicianship showed that they could craft their material into something unique and fresh. At the end, they do indeed make a major-league debut in 2002 at Wolftrap, outside of Washington D.C., as the opening act for Trisha Yearwood.

THE BALLAD OF BERING STRAIT goes into great depth into how the Nashville music and radio machinery operates, and how this band, as talented as they are, can find themselves pushing up against not only a glass ceiling, but really a stone wall. It was a near-impossible thing, with the record companies they were signed to being consolidated, their Nashville apartment going up in flames, and much, much more. But in the end, they persevered, and went on to make two albums as a band. And while they did split up in 2006, they still managed to break through to a dedicated cult following. This film shows how it all happened, and is a marvelous demonstration of tenacious and young country musicians from another part of the world somehow being able to make an impact in America.

It sounds like the perfect high-concept Hollywood plotline: eager, appealing, talented Russian teenagers dream of making it big in music -- but their chosen genre is American-style bluegrass and country. They learn their chops in Russia, then travel to the US and play at the Grand Ole Opry, to great acclaim and instant fame, "rubles to riches".

Were life a movie, that's the way it would work. But this movie is a life, many lives in fact, and things aren't so simple...

The band "Bering Strait" works for years to attain their dream of recording at Nashville, strive to stand out and be thought of as more than a novelty act ("Hey look -- a Russian playin' a banjo!"), try to be patient in the face of obstacles. Basically, just like any band anywhere. And ultimately that is what this documentary is about -- strip away the Russian accents, and these kids are facing the same problem aspiring bands anywhere have had. They have to balance schooling with career, deal with parents who love them but really wish they had chosen a more stable profession, agonize over letting a band member go. These are the universals of the music world.

Watching this film makes one wonder how *any* group makes it in music. As a recording exec points out, there are "hundreds of thousands" of talented musicians waiting for a chance, and the odds are very poor for them getting it... Even Bering Strait, with their hook of being foreign, have to weather years of promises and the storms of the recording industry.

Though the stress *is* a bit more exaggerated for them -- due to visa restrictions they cannot do any work in the U.S. other than music, not even flipping burgers, so periods where they are not working are especially frustrating. They feel helpless, powerless, isolated and homesick. (In an ironic twist on stereotypes, the urbanite Russian teenagers end up spending most of their time in America on a farm.) Their manager, producer, etc. are shown as folks who genuinely care for them, and in fact are putting themselves at risk for the band's sake, but the band themselves feel tossed about by fate.

Ironically, the music the band aspires to sounds (to this non-country-tuned ear) indistinguishable from any other top 40 country songs. The band is talented, the singers have lovely voices, but they seem to be willing to trade distinctiveness for success. Only when they perform a traditional Russian piece in a bluegrass arrangement do they stand out and show some pizazz.

(The film shows American reactions to their music: "Did they sound Russian?" Amusingly, one woman thinks they sound "too Yankee". And watching good ol' boys in a Nashville bar trying to pronounce Russian names is alone worth seeing the film.)

Watching this film, one is left with a sense of the basic decency of people everywhere. Nationalities are set aside as the common thread of human experience works through. (You don't have to speak Russian to understand the concern on the faces of the kids' parents as they contemplate their futures.) Even the sometimes harsh recording business is seen as being peopled with good folk who have troubles of their own. And the kids, though sometimes anxious and depressed, never descend into sullen attitude. (Though whether this is a product of their Russian background or the ambience of country music is unclear -- how would a rock band have fared, under the same circumstances?) And even everyday southern Americans, where the stereotype might suggest otherwise, are depicted as being open-minded to the idea of Russians playing country music.

Anyone who dreams of making it in music should see this film, as should anyone who knows them.

Most of the film is in English, with occasional subtitles.

I just saw this last night on CMT (Country Music Television) channel. It was a truly eye-opening documentary. It is all about these seven young musicians, all of whom hail from Russia, who came to the United States to try to make it as an American-style country/western band.

It is a wonderful documentary, one that I wish more young people could see. To say that it is "inspirational" is indeed an understatement. Just comprehending how these young Russians so thoroughly mastered the sound and style of American country music (not to mention their ease with the English language) is just plain impressive!!

Even if you don't consider country-western music to be "your bag", the way these kids put their hearts and souls (and obvious great musical talent) into playing it is enough to make you do a double take and then some. You will most likely end up enjoying their music, perhaps even becoming a fan and buying their CD.

Here in the documentary, not only is their music very appealing and entertaining, but the account of their trials and tribulations - of living in America, learning to cope with the country-music recording industry of Nashville, the endless practicing and songwriting, false leads and dismal uncertainties, thoughts of failure and having to return to Russia, even having their Nashville apartment building burn up in a big fire - is really quite compelling viewing.

I was so impressed by the documentary that I am planning on buying their CD - and to tell you the truth, I'm not really even a country/western music fan. But such was the effect on me of this picture, that I want to run out to my local Silver Platters store and buy their CD. Go figure!

So, good luck, Bering Strait. Hope you have continued success in the music industry!