Upamanyu Biswas
‘Brothers‘ ends with Moke and Jady Munger escaping with the emerald money after a series of opportune moments, and a hand from their mother, Cath, helps them escape a difficult predicament. In particular, the two finally deal with the threat presented by Officer Farful, who is after Jady’s emeralds as compensation for letting him out of prison early. However, along the trip, the two Munger brothers also try to patch up their issues with each other, as their dysfunctional relationship becomes the heart of much of the story’s amusement. Although the finale suggests that Jady and Moke have somehow botched their plans with the emeralds, a twist at the movie’s death hints at a much happier ending! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Brothers Plot Synopsis
Moke and Jady Munger are two brothers who have been tied at the hip since birth and have a talent for pulling off burglaries. From a very young age, they witness their mother, Cath, pull off some daring heists and stay away from home for months to lower her notoriety. On one such occasion, they are sad to see her leave after she pulls off a burglary of some valuable emeralds with her boyfriend, Glenn. Unfortunately, it is the last they see of her. Many years later, the brothers start pulling off some jobs of their own, with Jady acting as the lead planner for most of the tasks. However, Moke has grown weary of their lifestyle and is tired of being strung along by Jady. When the cops arrest Jady during a job, Moke watches in silence before escaping, leaving his brother to take the fall on his own.
Five years later, Jady is let out of the Sebald Prison after cutting a deal with Judge Farful, whose son, Jimmy, works as a peace officer. As compensation for being granted an earlier parole, Jady is tasked by Jimmy to retrieve the emeralds his mother stole and hand them over to the corrupt officer. He heads over to meet up with Moke, who is now working at a BBQ diner and has left his thieving past behind. He is also married and expecting his first child with his wife, Abby. They affectionately call the baby Blueberry. When Jady springs the news about taking on the emerald job on Moke, the latter rejects it immediately and tells his brother he is past committing crimes as he now seeks stability. However, after being fired from his job at the diner, Moke is forced to visit his brother to patch up their differences.
Meanwhile, Jady is beaten up by Jimmy Farful in his room, where the latter demands that he get on with the emerald job swiftly without dilly-dallying. Moke finds his brother in his injured state and feels sympathy for him. Thus, the two embark on the quest to find the emeralds and get their so-called “birthright.” Some bizarre shenanigans ensue when Jady stops over at one of his friends, one which ends with an ape chasing the brothers away. Matters get further complicated when Cath meets up with them, opening up old wounds, particularly in Moke. The three team up to retrieve the emeralds from the plot in which Cath buried Glenn, who swallowed the valuables and inadvertently killed himself. Unfortunately, the mother shows her true colors by eloping with the emeralds on her own, leaving the brothers with Jimmy.
Brothers Ending: Does Officer Farful Die?
After Cath runs away with the emeralds, Jady and Moke are apprehended and taken in by Officer Farful. The three of them are stunned at Cath’s willingness to run away with the emeralds even if it costs her the lives of her son. The amusing moment becomes the cause of a heated argument between the two brothers in the backseat of Jimmy’s car as he leads them away. Eventually, the fight boils into a physical confrontation, where Moke accidentally kicks the officer straight against the jaw, causing him to lose consciousness. The brothers manage to escape and follow their mother’s trail. It leads them to a showdown at the abandoned Ferndale Mall, where Farful shows up geared with a shotgun. This time, Jady uses his ingenuity to trap Jimmy and leaves him incapacitated under a Christmas tree.
Although, at first glance, it appears as if Jimmy is just injured or badly hurt, Moke’s dialogue at the end of the film suggests that he did not make it through his injuries. When Moke visits Judge Farful, he asks the older denizen whether he values his son or not, to which the Judge replies with an insulting analogy describing his son as being as worthless as a chocolate teapot. Subsequently, Moke tells him that given his age, the Judge will be incapable of spending all the money, which suggests that there is no heir to whom he can pass his wealth. Thus, the final delivery from Moke paints a grisly picture of what happened to Officer Farful, as he seemingly might have succumbed to his wounds. Also, considering the number of injuries he sustains throughout the story, it would be a miracle if he managed to get out alive.
Throughout the narrative, it is made evident to the viewer that Farful is a subservient son to his father, whose adoration has always been lacking in his life. All he wants is to be held up in his father’s esteem even though he has only been put down by him abusively for years. Still, Farful holds on to hope that someday he will become the legend his father often purports him to be. However, the final interaction with Judge Farful tells that his father never saw him as worth anything. It paints a contrasting yet similar picture of the familial dynamics of the Munger brothers. However, in their case, their dysfunctionality was never rooted in the type of abuse showcased by Judge Farful toward his son. Perhaps after his death, the Judge might repent of his actions, but it might be too late for that.
What Do Jady and Moke Do With the Money?
Following the events at the Ferndale Mall, Jady and Moke escape with the loot after their mother sacrifices herself in their place. She is imprisoned while the brothers do what they can to help each other with their shares of the money. Moke uses his cut to negotiate the release of Jady by obtaining the Uzi evidence in Judge Farful’s possession. He leaves the money with the Judge and returns home to his family to rekindle his love with his wife and their soon-to-arrive infant daughter. Unfortunately, the seemingly happy ending is put to a standstill when Moke learns that Jady also put his share of the money into a trust fund he opened for his daughter. Although it is done in good faith, Moke is astounded by its stupidity because he gave his share to Judge Farful, expecting that he and Jady could collectively use the latter’s cut.
The momentary snag derails their happiness, but Jady tries to allay any concerns by saying that, ultimately, the money will still belong to Moke’s daughter once she grows up. The only crux in the situation is that his daughter has to be named Blueberry, as that was the name under which he opened the trust fund. It is a hilarious twist of events that forces Moke into another ridiculous predicament, this time by convincing his wife to name their daughter Blueberry, which they both think is a silly name to give to a girl. After a quick time skip, it is revealed that Moke did, in fact, go through the process and officially named his daughter Blueberry, although they prefer to call her Blue. This means that the money is still in the Munger bloodline, except it will only be usable once Blueberry reaches adulthood.
What Happens to the Emeralds?
Although the fate of the money ended up being far more convoluted than Jady and Moke initially intended, a final twist allows them another chance at getting their hands at some profit out of the whole job. As it turns out, Cath did not sell all the emeralds from the job when she went to Freddie Unk. In fact, she kept a couple of emeralds for herself and snuck them from the police when she got arrested by swallowing them. Later, when Jady and Moke visit their mother at the Sebald Prison, she quietly smuggles them over to Jady. Moke catches on to the sleight of hand and later questions his brother about it. Jady tells him the truth, and the two can rejoice at finally having gained something from the heist.
Strangely, Cath’s method of hiding the emeralds turns out to be very similar to that of her ex-boyfriend, Glenn. Tragically, in his case, he ended up swallowing too many of them, leading to his death. Cath rectifies Glenn’s mistake by swallowing only a few. It allows her to leave something behind for her sons, an act of kindness that she has been unable to do for most of her life because of being married to her thieving lifestyle. It is a nice gesture and provides some form of closure for the weird tangle of family dynamics between the brothers and their mother. However, in the closing narration, Jady also mentions that he snuck another emerald away himself, which he never disclosed to Moke. Thus, some emeralds managed to survive and likely became an excellent life insurance plan for Jady and Moke moving forward.
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