chaos-rampant I saw this at a friend's house last week, prompted by memories of these people. It's a touching story about a common dream, the journey of unexpected adventure that takes you from a small Yugoslav city to the place of dreams, and how that dream was marred and grew sour when their country was torn apart, another common dream that was broken up.If journeys are not so much about where you finally end up but the transition from one life to the next, if looking back at the things that made the heart grow fond we find not attaining some goal as much as measuring yourself up against it and riding towards it, inhabiting all this sense of moving along, this is purely about a journey.It captured me by way of a sense I'm deeply attuned to; that the world is full of possible lives to explore, directly or vicariously through a camera, that there is no telling how these lives will pan out and the thrill all in setting out to see.

Nishanth Ponniah 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.

tzdsc Great documentary. And the perfect thing was that it was made by people that weren't and aren't from ex Yugoslavia. Once the most powerful sports country in the world. Which traces could still be felt in its former republics, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia... This documentary was made by a completely neutral producer and director. It is a fantastic and a sad life story that was told in a brilliant way. Why is war hell, what it does to you and your once brothers... Amazing and huge metaphor. Not to mention that it captures first return of Divac to Zagreb after the Yugoslavian war. Petrovic is a legend, and even for the people who never heard of him or never followed basketball and NBA, this documentary craftily tells the story and the back story. His father Serbian, and his mother Croatian, I can't even imagine what he went through during the war. I'm so happy that someone made this, it just had to be made! Brotherhood among people has no borders. No space for nationalism and racism. Once brothers, always brothers!

Michael_Elliott 30 for 30: Once Brothers (2010) **** (out of 4) Here we have yet another incredibly strong entry in ESPN's 30 FOR 30 series. This one here takes a look at the friendship between Vlade Divac and Drazen Petrovic as the two quickly rose to fame playing for the Yugoslovian National Team. They would eventually win a silver medal during the Olympics and both men would find their way to the NBA but their friendship would crumble after a war broke out in their country. During a national game Divac ended up doing something that would haunt him for the rest of his life and Petrovic would end up getting killed in a car wreck before the two could make up. It's funny but I've become a major fan of this series and most often the ones I'm worried about end up being some of the best episodes. That's certainly the case here because ONCE BROTHERS is a heartbreaking look at what war can do to someone and it also shows how precious moments can be lost in the matter of seconds and how one could end up going through life regretting something and not being able to make up with that one person close to you. The story of these two men was a very interesting one but the most fascinating stuff deals with the war and how it ripped them apart. Not only do you see the bloody battle that was going on in the country but you also realize what it could do to people living thousands of miles away. I thought the film did a wonderful job at showing the struggles the men were going through and this includes pressure put on them by their friends. Divac would end up having a very long career in the NBA but his friend would be killed just as he was starting to show his talent. The twists and turns in their story is something you'd laugh at or call unbelievable if you saw it in a movie but the final moments of this thing are incredibly touching even if they might have been set up. Either way, ONCE BROTHERS says a lot about friendship and, as Divac put it, the years it takes to build a friendship and the seconds it takes to destroy it.