Pamela Kokoszka is moved by the love between two brothers
My Brother the Devil is a 2013 British crime drama directed by Sally El Hosaini.
The film is a coming-of-age story about two sons of Egyptian immigrants, Mo (played by Fady Elsayed) and Rashid “Rash” (James Floyd).
Rash the older son, is very protective of his younger brother Mo, and wants him to lead an honest life and stay away from trouble. He encourages him to stay in school by getting him a TV when he does well.
Their tiny bedroom, and the bunk beds that they share in a small council flat in Hackney, are the physical equivalent of their emotional closeness.
However Mo becomes jealous of Rash’s lifestyle and of the way that he can provide for the family through drug dealing, so he too gets involved with the gang that Rash is working for.
Then Mo is robbed by a rival gang and in the fight between the two gangs Rash’s best friend Izzi is killed by the leader of the rival gang, who is called Damon. Rash wants revenge and plans to shoot Damon, but when he finds him in a tattoo parlour with his younger brother he cannot bring himself to do it. Instead he decides to follow through with the plan that Izzi had before he was killed, which was to leave the gang and start a new life.
After leaving the gang Rash grows very close to a French photographer called Sayyid who he has started working for, which makes Mo very jealous. Then one day Sayyid tries to kiss Rash who is at first repulsed before realising that he is also gay.
When Mo finds Rash and Sayyid together he retreats deeper into gang life, which worries Rash who then pleads with his former gang friends to let Mo leave the gang, and leave his family alone as well – in return for finally killing Damon. However when the gang members find out that Rash is gay they set a trap for him in which they plan to kill him, but he escapes.
The gang comes looking for him, with Mo amongst them, but Rash tricks them so that his brother can escape. In the process he takes a bullet for Mo.
At the hospital Rash’s parents ask him to forget about Sayyid and come home, but he can’t. Later on Mo finds Rash to tell him that he should stay with Sayyid, and they hug before parting.
The film is a powerful portrayal of the bond between two brothers who nevertheless have to go their separate ways.
It also uses its story to investigate difficult issues such as immigration and homosexuality.