The reviews should start hitting thick and fast today, and we’ll see if the positive reviews that have come out so far are indicative of the general critical opinion. James Berardinelli is one of my favourite reviewers and the film clearly worked for him – falling just half a star short of his rare 4 out of 4 rating.

Natalie Portman, once deemed to be one of cinema’s finest child actors, has floundered in recent years with unremarkable appearances in films like The Other Boleyn Girl, Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, and Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium. In Brothers, she recaptures the consistency and ability to inhabit a character that has defined her best work

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This is a rich, thoughtful, challenging motion picture, and one of 2009’s best.