Generally speaking, movies and TV series about vikings are not high on my list to watch - with a special exception here and there, but when I stumble on Northmen: A Viking Saga (2014)  on TV channel, I do rewatch it for Bovarr and Hjorr - the leaders of mercenary group known as Wolves responsible for hunting titular vikings - and for them solely.

From left to right: Bovarr and Hjorr

The first time I watched Northmen: A Viking Saga, I was afraid the movie would somehow set the brothers against each other, maybe even in a similar way the viking group was torn about Asbjorn’s leadership. I was worried that Bovarr would end up as a victim of his brother’s ruthless impulsiveness as Hjorr’s introduction presented him as someone prone to brutal violence who put a man’s face into fire at the royal feast

in contrast to his more toned down brother. And Hjorr’s brutal action seemed to surprise (displease?) even Bovarr.

But the introduction scene also, at that time, felt like Hjorr “usurped” the leadership, since it was Bovarr that the King called in the first place to deal with an unexpected situation, not Hjorr and yet ultimately King discussed the rescue mission only with the younger brother.

To my relief, the movie surprised me in a very good way and I appreciate all the effort the story and actors put into fleshing out their brotherhood in spite of their antagonist role.

For one, the film explained well why they wanted to kill the captured princess instead of saving her, as they were originally ordered by her father. As Hjorr’s argued, eliminating Lady Inghean would be in their best interest (and considering the princess’ opinion about them, it wasn’t an idea without merit). What

A) nicely highlights that Hjorr and Bovarr are loyal first and foremost to themselves

B) fits well their mercenary status

C) actually establishes an agency for them both. 

The scene in which Hjorr convinced his older brother to actually kill Lady Inghean is also an interesting study of them both. The brothers were sitting alone, away from their band

and we could see that Bovarr - as suggested by his body language and how little he did speak

Bovarr: As soon as they know we are after them, they'll just kill her and leave her behind. Hjorr: And who says we want to bring her back alive? Dunchaid is an old man. Have you considered what will happen to us when lnghean and her new husband succeed him? That's why we cannot bring her back alive. The reward will still be large enough. I'll tell to men tomorrow it was the King's decision to murder his daughter (laughs).

- wasn’t that keen on this plan at first. 

Ultimately, we see Bovarr’s acceptance - the little smile - after Hjorr forced / put their foreheads together.

In contrast to the introduction scene, we can assume Hjorr did not act without brother’s approval as further in the movie, one of the Wolves will tell Lady Inghean it was her father’s order to kill her and that scene, chronologically wise, happened after brothers’ agreement.

Later, during the pursuit after vikings, Bovarr warned Hjorr about possible ambush - a warning the younger brother ignored. As it turned out, vikings set a trap in which few mercenaries either died or were heavily injured. This is my favorite scene focused on Bovarr and Hjorr, as it shows their dynamic in a different way. Up to this point, we saw brothers discussing their course of action and final goal when they are alone, but when between Wolves, it felt like Bovarr was often in the shadow of younger brother. Here though the man openly confronted Hjorr about the wounded. 

Bovarr: Little brother. Hjorr: Mount up. Bovarr: What about the wounded? Hjorr: We move on.

and no man followed Hjorr’s order to mount up until Bovarr ordered so.

Interestingly, Hjorr in previous scene did not mind sent his men on suicide mission but here he was reluctant to do the mercy kill for heavily injured man and opted to leave him behind. Bovarr called Hjorr “little brother”, a similar gesture he did after Hjorr killed a man at king’s feast

and even catched his face to look him straight into eyes (while Hjorr avoided looking at Bovarr as much as he could)

before he did what needed to be done. What is also a very important detail, Bovarr killed the injured with Hjorr’s sword, indicating it was something his younger brother should do himself.

Hjorr is visibly affected by this little event, as we can see his distress  - though whether it is about the mercy killing he was unable to do or displeasing his older brother, is up to debate I guess. 

This short scene made me think that though Bovarr is overshadowed by younger brother, he is the ultimate authority that can and will challenge Hjorr in vital matters. At the same time, this little confrontation did not change the dynamic between brothers and Hjorr actually followed Bovarr’s plan to attack at night, instead of following the enemy right away. There is a clear distinction between the brothers; the elder is more composed and tactician while the younger is prone to act but surprisingly, their different styles do not clash, but actually complement each other. At the same, Hjorr is not mindless brute and apparently after the last viking trap his people walked in, he learned from the mistake, as he did save Bovarr from another deadly trap. Similarly, despite a more cautious approach, Bovarr is a competent fighter and he personally leads a small team on a stealth attack while Hjorr is left behind with the rest of their group. 

Another thing I really like about them is how much they communicate with each other without words; there are plenty of scenes when the brothers do not talk, but they look at each other like there is no need for words. This could be seen in the presented screenshoots and gifs above but also seen when Bovarr was leaving for the critical stealth mission (and there is no "good luck", only silent nod)

or when Hjorr was talking with the King about captured Inghean

Even during the final battle, when Hjorr had a chance to kill Asbjorn, the leader of vikings, he looked first at his brother

only to witness Bovarr's death, leaving him in shock long enough for Asbjorn attacking back.

Northmen: A Viking Saga is not cinema's masterpiece but I for sure enjoyed the relationship between Bovarr and Hjorr and how the actors decided to play them. Both men are brutal but at the same time, they definitely care for each other even if they do not speak aloud about that. They are different but also not conflicted, capable of leading together the mercenary band and I like that a lot. Seeing them was a pretty refreshing experience.