Abhiroop Das
Helmed by Pedro Morelli, Netflix’s ‘State of Fear,’ also known as ‘Salve Geral: Irmandade,’ is a Brazilian crime thriller movie and a sequel to the TV show, ‘Brotherhood.’ While the two-season television narrative focuses on Cristina Ferreira and her brother Edinho, the leader of a rebellious criminal group known as the Brotherhood, this movie steps into the near-future setting to tell the story of the next generation. When Edinho’s daughter, Elisa, is kidnapped in the city of São Paulo, the already high tensions between the Brotherhood and the police reach their tipping point, leading to waves of pure pandemonium. With the safety of her niece on one hand, and the task of restoring order on the other, Cristina finds herself mentally unraveling, but realizes that she must act before there is nothing left to save. SPOILERS AHEAD.
State of Fear Plot Synopsis
‘State of Fear’ begins with two cops, Romero and Dalva, celebrating the upcoming birth of their child at the police station. However, things take a drastic turn when the station is attacked by a group of armed rebels, belonging to the infamous Brotherhood gang. As people begin to die on both sides, Dalva’s water breaks, prompting Romero to escape the scene with her in a police car and later attempt an impromptu delivery at a parking lot. From here, the scene dials several hours into the past, where we learn that Cristina, now an esteemed councilwoman, is still hard at work as the Brotherhood’s covert leader. Most of the members are running the business from inside the prison, and are led by Ryan, who has a different opinion about the future of the Brotherhood.
Tensions are at an all-time high due to the upcoming elections, and the ruling party seeks to shift most of the Brotherhood convicts to solitary confinement as a sort of power move. However, this threatens to disrupt the gang’s operations, and Cristina’s attempts at toning things down prove to be a mismatch with the larger gang’s feelings. She also has her fair share of problems at home, specifically when it comes to her fractured relationship with her niece, Elisa. After a big argument, Elisa leaves the house to ride her sports bike, but is caught overspeeding by two cops, Nico and Anselmo. They prove to be corrupt, and in a desperate bid to break free, she reveals to them that she is Edinho’s daughter and has sway within the Brotherhood.
Instead of backing out in fear, however, Anselmo kidnaps Elisa and demands a hefty ransom from Cristina. Around the same time, it becomes clear that the latter no longer controls the government proceedings regarding the Brotherhood. Meanwhile, an enraged Ryan prepares for a large-scale counterattack against government institutions. News of Elisa’s kidnapping serves as the final nail in the coffin, provoking the attack we see at the start. Anselmo dies during the ensuing shootout, prompting Nico to flee the scene with Elisa, leaving Cristina behind. Still, the councilwoman tracks down Nico himself and tails him all the way into the night, when he ultimately decides to get rid of Elisa on the pretext of dropping her off at home. As a fierce gunfight ensues between him and Cristina, the latter is ultimately reunited with Elisa, but the fight isn’t over just yet.
State of Fear Ending: Is Cristina Dead? What Happens to Nico and His Mother?
At the end of ‘State of Fear,’ Cristina succumbs to her injuries, leaving Elisa in the middle of the active battlefield that São Paulo has transformed into. Through her death, Cristina embodies the Brotherhood’s slogan, “What’s Right is Right,” knowing she has passed the torch to her niece. Although Cristina and Elisa make a safe exit from the subway station, with Nico trailing far behind, it’s the very slogan painted on a wall that compels Cristina to return to the fight. Her perspective this entire time has been one of laying low and enduring whatever is thrown at the Brotherhood, with the sole aim of securing a future. However, the rebellion and its aftermath force her to reevaluate this idea and whether or not it is truly in the best interest of her group.
In the final stretch of the movie, Cristina comes to realize that Elisa’s kidnapping isn’t exactly detached from the police brutality events, like she earlier thought, but in fact is deeply connected in spirit. Saving Elisa from Nico represents Cristina’s personal rebellion against the system, in line with the riots orchestrated by the rest of her teammates. As such, while her decision to re-target Nico once again can initially be confusing, it ultimately crystallizes her way of exerting her will over the rebellion. However, this blind descent into violence comes with its consequences, and the moment Cristina shoots at Nico, she comes face to face with Nico’s mother, who rams her car in that direction as a last-ditch effort to save her son. While Cristina survives by a hair’s breadth, Nico’s mother isn’t as lucky.
The grayest shades of this entire exchange come out in Cristina and Elisa’s reaction to what is most likely the slow death of Nico’s mother. While she is among the kindest characters featured in the movie, the chaos of the riots ends up swallowing her whole, and Nico has to watch life slip out of her body. What’s even more surprising is that neither Cristina nor Elisa dares to stop and help, unwittingly fueling the cycle of hatred even further. In retaliation, Nico shoots wildly at the car, fatally hitting Cristina in her chest. Despite being at opposite ends of the spectrum, both Nico and Elisa lose their guardians at the end. With the movie making no indications of Nico’s injuries being fatal, it is unlikely that he will give up his hunt for Elisa anytime soon.
Are Romero and Dalva Dead? Does Elisa Take the Baby?
Alongside the twisted fates of Cristina and Nico, the movie also highlights the grim nature of conflict through the fates of Romero and Dalva. We are introduced to the couple at the very start of the movie, just as they are celebrating the upcoming birth of their child. While a warm moment by itself, it contrasts the inner complications that define Romero and Dalva as cops, ones who aren’t always on the right side. By the time the attacks roll out, however, Romero and Dalva are no longer embodying the role of cops on a narrative level, but those of two helpless parents, which makes their conclusion all the more tragic. In the final scene of the film, Elisa blindly shoots at a police vehicle, believing it to be hostile, only to accidentally kill Romero, and potentially even Dalva.
In the movie’s opening scene, the fate of Romero and Dalva’s baby is intentionally kept ambiguous. The baby’s presence in the final scene retroactively explains part of the earlier scene, but it still doesn’t confirm whether or when Dalva died at any point prior to the ending. While it is possible that she met her end during the delivery, given her injuries and the unsafe conditions, it is more likely that she survived till the final shooting, given that she has the baby next to her when she dies. Although Elisa is responsible for these two deaths, she had no real way of determining whether the police car was inhabited by harmless people or by people who were out to kill her. In a different scene, we get a clear glimpse into the police’s policy of killing someone even remotely suspicious, and Elisa’s acts, while self-preservative in nature, fall on the same wavelength.
The larger point made by the surprise death of Romero and Dalva seems to be about how tragedy is inherent to violence. As shown in the movie, conflicts erode a common sense of humanity, forcing many characters on a dark path and, in turn, fueling suffering on all sides. The title, ‘State of Fear,’ as such, plays on both the larger system that engineers terror, as well as the environment of pure fear, chaos, and bloodshed, which Romero and Dalva are victims of. However, the survivor, and potential beacon of hope in this grim ending, is Romero and Dalva’s baby, who is rescued from the car by Elisa. It is likely that she takes the baby someplace safe, far and away from the conflict at hand, showing how it is up to the next generations to emerge out of conflict and imagine a world without one.
Will Elisa Take Over the Brotherhood?
One striking moment in the final scene of ‘State of Fear’ is when Elisa tries to ask the Brotherhood for help as Cristina slowly bleeds to her death. While members of the Brotherhood initially take notice and try to clear the way, they are just as quickly distracted by the act of burning a bus. As a twisted sense of glee and bloodthirst takes over their minds, Elisa finds herself all alone, and that is likely to have a radical effect on her psyche. With many of the Brotherhood leaders meeting their end in the ongoing fights, a power vacuum is bound to emerge, making it possible that Elisa’s future involves assuming command of the Brotherhood and pushing it in a new light, one in line with her idea of a revolution.
Throughout the movie, Elisa is primarily represented as Edinho’s successor, and that is often reflected in her ideas of revolution and justice. To that end, it makes sense for her to take on the reins, a full decade after her father’s passing. While the system established by Cristina enables the Brotherhood to grow richer and develop its resources, it does not make room for grassroots changes. On the other hand, the violent stance put forth by people like Ivan is bound to lead to a more oppressive regime, not less. Faced with the successes and failures of both these approaches, Elisa has the opportunity to find out her path of resistance, one that can truly work towards a reality that Edinho worked towards materializing.
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