'Brothers' tells the story of the encounters of two eras: The first is a story of the Cultural Revolution and the fanatic spirit which is recorded as an era of repressed instinct and tragic fate, equivalent to Europe's Middle Ages. The second story is set in the present, it is a story of ethical subversion, marked as an era of impetuous and universal indulgence, more similar to Europe today. A Westerner needs to live 400 years to experience two such radically different eras, whilst a Chinese man only needs to live for 40 years to experience that. Four centuries of turbulent change concentrated into four decades, this is a precious experience. The connecting tie between these two eras are the two brothers, their life changes within the era changes, their sorrows and joys springing forth within the outbreaks, their fates are turning upside down precisely as the eras they are in, and eventually their sufferings must intersect.
