Let me start with this - If this movie was American, i would give it 7/10. But since it's Serbian, i can proudly proclaim that this is a first real action movie we ever made that looks good. So, using our standards, i give it 9/10.

• Production, music, sound effects, action scenes, picture, settings...it's all top notch and surprisingly good for our standards. Not really there with Hollywood, but near it.
• Casting was great in most of the cases - Though i think the main role should have gone to a more ''dangerous looking'' actor like Viktor Savic, instead it went to Milos Bikovic - he acted very well but i feel that his portrayal of a criminal is a bit too much romanticized.
• Acting is pretty good, which is expected of a huge number of legends of Serbian cinematography that star in this movie (Especially Srdjan Todorovic and late Nebojsa Glogovac). Acting was always the strongest element of Serbian movies. Younger actors did their job well, though it wasn't anything spectacular. There was a lot of comic lines and moments, in an otherwise serious movie.
• Story is somewhat simple and really isn't the strongest point of the movie. But it's a nice change for us in Serbia to have a movie with a plot that isn't either 1) historical 2)surreal 3)overly pretentious and thus complicated. It's a nice, regular, crime story with some cliche's sprinkled over it and few very open allusions towards inefficiency and corruption of Serbian police and state.

A thriller about tough guys, criminals and corrupt cops in Belgrade, with some car chases and shoot-outs, the film is not bad technically, but is full of cliches and a lazy plot. The main guy, Maras, and his gang steal expensive cars with foreign license plates. The plot starts when Maras unknowingly steals a car packed with drugs that were supposed to be delivered to the main kingpin of Belgrade. Problem is, Maras steals the car from a Bulgarian thug, who is supposed to deliver the dope, while the thug is making out with a busty "sponsored girl" (a Belgrade term for silicone-enhanced chicks who hang with thugs), standing in front of a kiosk on a street in broad daylight, his car keys and wallet just lying there on the kiosk shelf. Maras takes the keys and takes the car, the thug notices only then and shouts distressed while Maras drives away. Now, if you're a bad*ss gangsta driving kilos of cocaine from Bulgaria to Belgrade and you're THAT clueless... I mean, really?

Now everyone is Iooking for Maras and the car with the dope. There are some brutal interrogations, chases, killings, etc. which keep the film moving. However, next problem is that all the characters are also total cliches - Maras's alcoholic dad, who can only shout, the sadistic kingpin, the corrupt cynical cops who are in on the deal, etc. Everybody curses like crazy (which is actually pretty realistic) and acts macho all the way - but the only thing saving the film from the weak storyline are the actors - some of them are great Serbian actors - they are good even with the one-dimensional characters they are given to play.

Some character dilemmas and ponderings follow in acts 2 and 3, but again, everything is very obvious and plays on the surface only. There are no surprises here, it's mostly painting by numbers. The ending also completely strains any believability. Maras manages to outsmart the brutal kingpin and his gang of hard-core criminals in such a silly way that it's laughable.

Although the insanely high imdb score and some of the reviews are likely paid for, the movie is a box office hit in Serbia, and some people really like it. I've heard someone say that the scenes of the shoot-outs and car chases look great. Well, yes, it strives to look like a Hollywood movie made in Serbia - If that's enough to make a movie good, maybe - but there is nothing really original in this film. This ain't no "Pusher" or "Drive". It's an average B movie. If you want a good thriller from Serbia watch "The Trap" (Klopka, 2007), and for a film about Belgrade criminals with more substance, try "The Wounds" (Rane, 1998). Given the times we live in, however, I'm sure there will be a South Wind 2.

Juzni Vetar or South Wind is a Serbian crime movie and considering that majority of movies from this side of the Europe are comedy or satirical movies this one really lives up to it's potential. Milos Avramovic, the director, puts up movie about dark underground inside Serbia and while watching this movie you will feel the goosebumps of gritty and dark moments that might be too much for some people. Featuring some of the great actor talents from that part of Europe, you will appreciate everything that they are doing and how good it is done. It could be easily said that it is one of the best written movies recently published in Balkan area (Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bulgaria). It will absolutely give you the realistic idea of how things are done here or were being done which is not a good thing but in movie such as this it works perfectly. Milos Bikovic (Petar) is the main character in the movie and that guy proved how good he is because his performance will you stunned. There are also others that help elevate movie to another levels and one of them is Srdjan Todorovic (Jani) that gave a comedic aspect to movie that was so much needed in some moments because of how dark this movie is. While watching this movie you will not take your eyes of it and if you like action with violence that is really shown on screen you will love this one because there is plenty for you. It was a dark, gritty, bloody and violently spectacular. 3.5/4