The titular Brothers of this charming romantic comedy are four successful African-American professionals, each running scared from various commitments. Writer/director Hardwick's wry examination of relationships comes from a male POV, but The Brothers doesn't let men off the hook - the women characters are comfortably more intelligent than our heroes - but they are depicted as three-dimensional and likeable people.
Not all the story strands are tied up, there's a lack of dramatic tension, and it's overly talky. But Hardwick has a way with a one-liner and the largely unknown cast are uniformly impressive. It's refreshing to see a film about intelligent, eloquent black people which doesn't deploy the tired old race card.