Movies like Brother (1997)
The best movies like Brother (1997) are Al Capone (1959), The Enforcer (2022) and Empire (2002). If Brother hooked you with its crime and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMenace II Society (1993)7.5/10 from 975 votes
- NewestIcefall (2025)Released 2025
Al Capone (1959)
In this unusually accurate biography, small-time hood Al Capone comes to Chicago at the dawn of Prohibition to be the bodyguard of racketeer Johnny Torrio. Capone's rise in Chicago gangdom is followed through murder, extortion, and political fraud. He becomes head of Chicago's biggest "business," but moves inexorably toward his downfall and ignominious end.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Enforcer (2022)
A noir thriller set in Miami, the film follows an enforcer who discovers his femme fatale boss has branched out into cyber sex trafficking, putting a young runaway he’s befriended at risk. He sacrifices everything to save the young girl from the deadly organization he’s spent his life building.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEmpire (2002)
Big time drug dealer Victor Rosa is looking to get out of the game and sees his chance with a big deal with a new friend who happens to be a Wall St. stockbroker. Thinking this will be his chance to go out on top, Victor soon finds out that he's been double crossed and his last option is to get revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDiablo (2025)
Ex-con Kris Chaney seizes the daughter of a Colombian gangster to fulfill a noble promise to the young girl's mother. When her father enlists both the criminal underworld and a psychotic killer to exact his revenge, Kris relies on everything he's ever learned to stay alive and keep his word.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEl padrino: The Latin Godfather (2004)
In the streets of East Los Angeles, Manny is a formidable drug dealer. Impressed by his extravagant lifestyle and prowess, his young son, Kilo, yearns to follow in his footsteps. Kilo resolves to learn how to prosper in the drug world, and his new life as a dealer begins. In a world where a man wants everything, he may end up with nothing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrother 2 (2000)
Arriving in Moscow, Chechen War veteran Danila meets Konstantin, an old friend who tells him that his twin brother has been forced into signing a crooked contract with a US ice hockey team. Soon after this meeting, Danila discovers Konstantin dead and he sets out to avenge his death; a journey that leads him to Chicago and a whole new experience.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Perfect Weapon (1991)
Jeff, a young delinquent, is enrolled by his father in a kenpo school, in the hopes of teaching the boy some self-discipline. Years later, Jeff's mentor, Kim, is being threatened by one of the Korean mafia families. Jeff tries to help his old friend, but is too late to prevent Kim's death at the hands of an unknown hitman. Vowing revenge, Jeff takes on all of the families, using his martial arts skills to find the man who killed his friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFast Charlie (2023)
When his aging mob boss is whacked, Charlie Swift, a loyal friend and hired gun, will stop at nothing to destroy the upcoming crew that took him out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRun (1991)
When a law student accidentally kills the son of a mob boss in a fight, he finds himself relentlessly pursued by the mob and the police.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPaid in Full (2002)
Ace is an impressionable young man working for a dry cleaning business. His friend, drug dealer Mitch, goes to prison. In an unrelated incident, he finds some cocaine in a pants pocket. Soon, Ace finds himself dealing cocaine for Lulu. Via lucky breaks and solid interpersonal skills, Ace moves to the top of the Harlem drug world. Of course, unfaithful employees and/or rivals conspire to bring about Ace's fall.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMenace II Society (1993)
A young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSiberian Education (2013)
The story of a gang of children growing up in a community of banished criminals, in a forgotten corner of the former Soviet Union. This community rejects the world outside. The only law it obeys… is its own. Against this backdrop two best friends, Kolyma and Gagarin, gradually become fierce enemies as they find themselves on opposite sides of the strict code of honour of the ‘honest criminal’ brotherhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbsolution (2024)
An aging ex-boxer gangster working as muscle for a Boston crime boss receives an upsetting diagnosis. Despite a faltering memory, he attempts to rectify the sins of his past and reconnect with his estranged children. He is determined to leave a positive legacy for his grandson, but the criminal underworld isn’t done with him and won’t loosen their grip willingly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisCode of Silence (1985)
A Chicago cop is caught in the middle of a gang war while his own comrades shun him because he wants to take an irresponsible cop down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInside Man (2023)
Based on true events. A disgraced police detective seeking redemption goes undercover to expose a violent crime syndicate. But as he sinks deeper into the mob, the price for absolution may be higher than he can afford.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Virtuoso (2021)
Danger, deception and murder descend upon a sleepy town when a professional assassin accepts a new assignment from his enigmatic boss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisIcefall (2025)
A young Indigenous game warden arrests an infamous poacher only to discover that the poacher knows the location of a plane carrying millions of dollars that has crashed in a frozen lake. When a group of criminals and dirty cops are alerted to the poacher’s whereabouts, the warden and the poacher team up to fight back and escape across the treacherous lake before the ice melts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRed Right Hand (2024)
Cash is trying to live a quiet, honest life in a small Appalachian town. When a vicious crime boss forces him back into her services, he soon learns he's capable of anything -- even killing -- to protect his family and his home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSexy Beast (2001)
Ex-safecracker Gal Dove has served his time behind bars and is blissfully retired to a Spanish villa paradise with a wife he adores. The idyll is shattered by the arrival of his nemesis Don Logan, intent on persuading Gal to return to London for one last big job.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBelly (1998)
Tommy Bundy and Sincere are best friends as well as infamous and ruthless criminals and shot-callers in the hood. Respected by many but feared by all. As the police are closing in on them and new players are looking for a come up, will their reign last?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNew Police Story (2004)
Sent into a drunken tailspin when his entire unit is killed by a gang of thrill-seeking punks, disgraced Hong Kong police inspector Wing needs help from his new rookie partner, with a troubled past of his own, to climb out of the bottle and track down the gang and its ruthless leader.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnjaan (2014)
A man travels to Mumbai in search of his estranged brother, a feared figure in the criminal underworld. As he follows the trail through gang rivalries and shifting alliances, he uncovers a complex web of loyalty, deception, and violence that blurs the line between justice and revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Next Karate Kid (1994)
Mr. Miyagi decides to take Julie, a troubled teenager, under his wing after he learns that she blames herself for her parents' demise and struggles to adjust with her grandmother and fellow pupils.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisPusher 3 (2005)
Milo is aging, he is planning his daughter's 25th birthday, and his shipment of heroin turns out to be 10,000 pills of ecstasy. When Milo tries to sell the pills anyway, all Hell breaks loose and his only chance is to ask for help from his ex-henchman and old friend Radovan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInfernal Affairs II (2003)
In this prequel to the original, a bloody power struggle among the Triads coincides with the 1997 handover of Hong Kong, setting up the events of the first film.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGrilled (2006)
Maurice and Dave sell high-end cuts of beef, but after hitting a patch of no sales, they're facing being fired. Maurice needs money to enroll in his final semester of acupuncture school, and the recently-separated Dave needs money for his daughter's birthday gift. Their final client card—a beautiful woman—is attracted to Maurice, but a desperate call from a suicidal friend interrupts her signing the contract. Still hoping to close the sale, they offer to drive her to the friend's house—where their troubles multiply.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisValley of the Wolves: Iraq (2006)
The film covers through fiction real-life events like the occupation of Iraq, the execution of Daniel Pearl, the Hood event and the Abu Ghraib torture scandal.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisEven Angels Eat Beans (1973)
Two mismatched buddies are mistaken for mob enforcers in Depression-era America.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThieves and Robbers (1983)
A Lothario, in trouble for fooling around with a Senator's wife, becomes an unwitting witness to a mob murder. Police Lieutenant Parker tries to solve the case in enough time to take his long-suffering family on vacation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBomber (1982)
Bomber is an unemployed boat captain. One day he meets Jerry, a manager of boxers who are struck by the force of his fists. That is when they see the chance to win big money.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Brother?
The closest matches to Brother are Al Capone (1959), The Enforcer (2022) and Empire (2002). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Brother?
Start with Al Capone (1959), the closest match to Brother.
What is the highest-rated movie like Brother?
Menace II Society (1993), rated 7.5/10 by 975 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Brother?
Icefall (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Brother chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Brother, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.