Once Brothers (2010)

As Good As It Gets

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

MICHAEL WINTERS -- How can anybody take your review seriously with that kind of atrocious spelling! It is, however, in keeping with your general lack of knowledge of this period. Having had the pleasure of spending time interviewing Dino Radja during his time with the Celtics, and learning more about the political climate, as well as Vlade's outlook, I'm happy to conclude that you are wrong on all fronts. By all accounts, Divac was remorseful both at the time, and in the aftermath, and I'm not buying into your bluster about laying hard fouls on Drazen. The rest of the Croatian players - Kukoc in particular - have nothing to gain by attaching their name to the documentary if they felt it was disingenuous. Kudos to ESPN for looking outside of the usual headlines in this - and other - 30 for 30's.

I learned a lot in this movie, not only about the lives of Drazen Petrovic and Vlade Divac, but also of the political situation in the nation formerly known as Yugoslavia. I have always known who Drazen Petrovic was, but never to this extent. He has a work ethic that is comparable to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant and he is arguably the best European player of all time in terms of talent. I especially love how the production crew went to Vlade Divac's hometown and involved other players from the Yugoslavia team, including Toni Kukoc. Their path and successes in the NBA is the icing on the cake. A must watch for any NBA fan or a fan of sports in general.

horribly sad ending DON'T show they doing CPR on the corpse!I've seen quite a few of the films from the "30 for 30" series from ESPN and must say that "Once Brothers" might be the best film among them. However, I warn you that you might want to keep a Kleenex handy, as this is a pretty sad one.The show is about the rise and fall of the Yugoslavian basketball program in the 1980s and 90s. It's hard to believe now, but at one point, they were among the best teams in the world--a real powerhouse. In fact, the team was so good that the NBA took notice--and drafted some of the top Yugoslavian players--including Vlade Divac, Toni Kukoc and Drazen Petrovic. The story then becomes more interesting when the Iron Curtain falls--and Yugoslavia starts to disintegrate due to ethnic and religious divisions that have been simmering for centuries. Once friends, Divac and Petrovic would not even talk after that, though they had been best friends. Divac had offended Petrovic and the gulf between them was enormous. Then, the story takes an even darker turn.If you want drama, then this is for you! Just don't expect a happy ending--which makes sense, as well over 100,000 died during the civil war in Yugoslavia. A sad, horrible time...and a really gripping show.

This was another sad-but-memorable episode in this series, a haunting one about the friendship and alienation between two great pro basketball players from Eastern Europe. Vlade Divic tells the story of he and his former best friend Drazen Petrovic, and what happened to that friendship. It's really sad.Yes, it's only told from Divac's side, but he comes across as an honest man. Maybe I'm naive, but I believed him.I don't want to give anything else away but this episode will tug at your heartstrings. It's a shame politics divides so many people.It's a bleak tale, but absolutely riveting.