Aleksey Balabanov was born in 1959 in Sverdlovsk.  He graduated from Gorky State Pedagogical Institute in Moscow in 1981. Between 1983 and 1987 Balabanov worked as director’s assistant at Sverdlovsk Film Studio. In 1990, he graduated from Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors (experimental workshop “Auteur Cinema” headed by L. Nikolaeva and B. Galanter). He made his first documentary Egor and Nastia in 1989, followed by History of Air Travel (1990) and Border Conflict (1991). His first feature film, Happy Days was released in 1992 and won instant fame across Europe. In 1994 he made his debut as a producer with the film Confession to a Stranger. Balabanov is best known for the 1997 crime film Brat (Brother), and its more action-oriented sequel, Brat-2 (Brother 2). In 2002 Alexey Balabanov released the feature Voyna (War) which was enormously popular in Russia and worldwide. Thereafter, he directed two shocking and controversial films Cargo 200 (2007) and Morphine (2008).