Real life brothers, Matej and Krystof Hádek, play the leads. One, Kobra, is a drug-addled mentally ill petty thief, the other, Uzovka, acts as his reluctant minder, extricating him from compromising situations. The film opens with him having to talk him down off the roof of the local nightclub after he accidentally hits a woman in the face on the dance floor with the pair of arm-length bolt cutters he has constantly strapped to his back so he can lift chained up bikes and stuff... you get the drift, he's a fuck up.
Uzoka wants out and he sees a reasonably clear patch of air as a youth sportswear franchisee. He gets a whiff of it thanks to his doting grandmother but even as things start to go right his friends and family line up to take a shit on it all.
Prusinovský delivers clear visuals and, with the help of a perceptive first screenplay from Jaroslav Zvácek and some well-textured performances from both leads and supporting players, The Snake Brothers gradually grows from opportunistic loser comedy to something far more politically complex. It's no surprise that improving one's lot in life sometimes takes some moral flexibility; the surprise comes in how Prušinovský can make this oft-made point, on the sly, with impressive and emotionally-rewarding understatement.
★★★
Trailer:
The Snake Brothers screened at the third Czech and Slovak Film Festival of Australia.
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