Balalaika on AllMovie

Three brothers from Turkey help to redefine the phrase "international relations" during a voyage back from Russia in this flavorful comedy-drama. Hassan (Cem Davran), Necati (Ugur Yucel), and Mehmet (Ozan Guven) are three brothers who are brought together for the first time in years after the unexpected death of their father. Hassan has seen the world as a sailor, while Necati has devoted his life to trying to please their taskmaster father; teenaged Mehmet has been living in Europe with his mother and barely knew the man he's mourning. One of their father's last requests was that his sons travel to Russia and recover the remains of an old army buddy who died in combat so that he may be buried in Turkish soil. The brothers head to Russia and are able to obtain the body of their father's friend, and they arrange to bring it back on a bus that's been chartered to Turkey. But the three brothers soon discover that they're the only male passengers on the coach. With money tight in Russia, a resourceful woman named Tanya (Yekaterina Rednikova) has arranged the bus trip so a number of women can travel to Turkey, where they'll be able to find ready employment as streetwalkers. En route, each of the three brothers finds himself falling for one of the would-be prostitutes, and when they arrive, they decide that the women deserve a better fate, taking it upon themselves to provide one.