In his first film shot in the US, Japanese director Takeshi Kitano stars as Aniki, a stoic yakuza (the Japanese version of the Mafia) who heads to Los Angeles after his clan loses a mob war. Unable to speak English, he still manages to take control of his little brother`s small-time gang of drug dealers and quickly moves them up the criminal ladder by impassively blasting all their higher-ups and imparting an Eastern sense of honor to the new family. Between the ritual suicides, tortures, self-mutilations, and blood-soaked gun battles, Aniki forms a special bond with black gang member Denny (Omar Epps), who teaches him some English slang in exchange for guidance. As with Kitano`s previous films such as FIREWORKS, VIOLENT COP, and SONATINE, an overall sense of Zen stillness contrasts with sudden macho eruptions into violence. The film takes a uniquely Japanese look at the male psyche, which makes it nicely comparable to the works of Takeshi`s American counterparts like Peckinpah, Tarantino, and Abel Ferrara. Offbeat and strangely subdued, BROTHER still delivers all the desired gangster goods and should make new Takeshi fans out of anyone who has seen SCARFACE or THE GODFATHER.