I guess this documentary might seem a bit senseless to an outsider, someone not from ex-Yugoslavia. So let me try to explain what it means to me.
First, the lead singer, Nele Karajlić. He's one of the funniest and at the same time most intelligent people I had the opportunity to see and hear. One of the co-founders of the original "No Smoking Orchestra" (before Kusturica joined), the band that was lyrically probably the best in the history of rock in Yugoslavia. He planted so much soul into his songs... One of those songs is performed in the movie, too: "Nedjelja kad je otiao Hase", apparently about a football player but really about the death of Tito, legendary (if not always loved) Yugoslav president. But he was also a lead member of "Top lista nadrealista", a low-budget TV show that unfortunately turned out to be incredibly prophetic. In this movie you also have a chance to see one of the clips that predicted the split of Yugoslavia many years before it actually began: the fight of garbagemen from East and West Sarajevo. (The city was indeed torn into such parts during the war!) Nele is a great character, always willing to accept a joke on his own account, as you can see several times during the film. He may not be the best lead vocal in the world, but to me he is unique in every way.
Although I think that the new "No Smoking Orchestra" is nowhere near the old one, still there is no arguing about their worldwide popularity. So many great musicians, and each of them has his own five minutes of glory in this film. There are some incredible moments, like the bass player's shoulder that got dislocated in the middle of the concert, or the guitarist's preparation for the song "Lubenica". The only one that is extremely unlikeable is Kusturica's son, Stribor, the drummer, who seems to be a guy that likes to bully everybody else, including his father.
To conclude, this may not be an objective sort of documentary, but it being so personal is exactly what makes it good.
