Religious and family ties intertwine thornily in Brotherhood, Czech-based Italian director Francesco Montagner’s intimate and empathetic study of three Muslim siblings working as shepherds in rural Bosnia. Tracing how the trio copes with the enforced absence of a firebrand father during his 23-month prison sentence for terrorist offences, the film combines topical and timeless themes to low-key but cumulatively compelling effect. — These rural lads are not, by their nature, notably communicative sorts. It’s a credit to Montagner and his team that they established sufficient rapport to allow their fly-on-the-wall, self-effacing techniques to yield organic results that smack of unvarnished authenticity. — The ongoing subtext of the film [is] the question of whether the boys will all stay put at home — and buckle down to professional, religious and familial responsibilities — or exercise personal liberty to seek their fortunes and happiness elsewhere. Brotherhood scores by maintaining a careful balance that illustrates the joys and pitfalls lurking on each side of those decisions.

Neil Young, Screen Daily

Brotherhood offers several interesting ideas about religious faith, provincial life, masculinity, or healing and progress. — Montagner films the brothers and their rural surroundings in a naturalistic, fly-on-the-wall manner [r]esembling similarly constructed documentaries by masters like Frederick Wiseman or Gianfranco Rosi.

Eren Odabaşı, International Cinephile Society