Niko

Niko Bellic is the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto IV. Niko grew up in Yugoslavia, where he fought in the Yugoslav Wars. He later worked for organized crime syndicates as a hired-gun in Liberty City. Ever since the wars ended, Niko's main goal in life was to find and kill one of two men: Florian Cravic or Darko Brevic, for one of them betrayed his military unit during the wars and nearly killed him. Niko is the younger cousin of Roman Bellic and the son of Milica Bellic. Niko was born in Yugoslavia in 1978. It was implied that his father was an abusive alcoholic. His mother, Milica Bellic, was unhappy that her son grew up in such a harsh place. Niko reveals that he had a brother who died during the Yugoslav Wars. Niko dreamed of becoming an astronaut when he was a child. Niko mentions the house where he grew up in did not have electricity until he was twelve. Niko grew up in the harsh environment of the Yugoslav Wars, and was a teenage soldier. Niko says that he was betrayed "ten years ago", making it closer to 1997 or 1998. He served as a helicopter pilot and an infantryman during the war. Niko both witnessed and committed numerous atrocities, which led to his cynical perspective on life, and a certain degree of regret, depression, and emotional detachment. Eventually, Niko's unit of fifteen men were ambushed by enemy forces, but Darko Brevic, Florian Cravic, and Niko himself survived. Niko concluded that either Florian or Darko had sold the group out, and he vowed to uncover and kill the culprit, not only to gain revenge, but also to hopefully "close the book" on the incident and move on with his life.Niko had trouble finding steady work after the war. Niko's cousin, Roman, had already moved to America to start a new life in Liberty City while Niko spent the next decade working in the European criminal underworld, leading to a period of incarceration in a European penitentiary. After his release from prison, he began working for a human trafficking ring led by Ray Bulgarin. When a boat involved in the operation sank in the Adriatic Sea during a smuggling run into Italy, Niko swam to safety, but everything and everyone else was lost. Bulgarin believed that Niko had intentionally scuttled the ship and stole his money. Bulgarin's reach was too great within Europe, so Niko joined the merchant navy to escape him. It is clearly evident that Niko's suffering from a quarter-life crisis. Having grown up in difficult conditions and witnessed the horrors of warfare, Niko in general feels frustrated, fatalistic, confused with his life's direction, pessimistic, overwhelmed, unappreciated, cynical, and unfulfilled. Niko is very protective of his family and loved ones, particularly his cousin Roman, whom Niko constantly has to worry about due to his gambling habit. Roman has an indiscreet nature of frequently getting the pair into trouble. He is withdrawn among strangers, but has good manners, and shows a softer side with love interests like Kate McReary and Michelle. That said, the horrors of war, both witnessed and perpetrated by Niko, have given him a great sense of guilt, and an ambivalence about the value of human life — he warns away pursuers and expresses regret over his past violence, but also feels that killing is all that he can do, readily taking on jobs which necessarily involve murder. Niko is prone to violence after being angered and he has an explosive temper when he is betrayed, manipulated, or his loyalty is questioned, but he is also quick to help the defenseless and unfortunate, even those he merely meets in passing; he apparently possesses a sense of idealism which was wounded by his wartime experiences. Unfortunately, such a split attitude leads to hypocrisy — Niko, for example, appears to genuinely sympathize with the McRearys' grief over the demise of one of their brothers (either Derrick McReary or Francis McReary), despite having secretly committed that murder himself. This makes it highly possible that Niko is a pessimist. Niko's bitterness at the murder of his friends during the war has consumed him, and he is unable to let it go, taking on several highly dangerous jobs merely to enable his quest for vengeance. Several of his friends, most notably Roman, urge him to find a new reason to live, and there are many morality choices for Niko to emphasize his trait. Niko's business-like manner usually leads him to behave more maturely and cautiously than his acquaintances, although with acquaintances like Brucie Kibbutz, Bernie Crane and Roman, this is no surprise. He has an apparent distaste for illegal drugs. He frequently turns down Little Jacob's offers for marijuana and warns Packie about his cocaine habit. He also finds it distasteful to traffic in cocaine and particularly heroin, although this may be due to the heavy jail sentences they attract as much as any moral qualms. He is skeptical of American mainstream culture, which he sees as "shallow" and "hypocritical" and has trouble relating to Roman's fascination with the country. However, he reasons that being in America is far better than back in Serbia due to the country's instability and misery. Niko also exhibits dislike for American conservative politicians, whom he considers to be hypocrites. An example is Bryce Dawkins, whom Niko says is a "bullshitter" for giving homophobic speeches and preaching about family values to gain political power when he himself is bisexual. However, Niko is a centrist. Niko has a certain degree of empathy for other people, even random strangers, and feels obliged to help others who cannot help themselves. Most missions involve Niko doing jobs for money, particularly one occasion. After meeting a troubled young girl, Marnie Allen, he even gives her some of his own money multiple times to help her out. He is also surprisingly calm when speaking to authority figures, even those as powerful as Francis McReary, who he simply asks for more money from, much to the disappointment and frustration of McReary. He is usually never emotionally disturbed by anyone besides Darko Brevic. He expresses disgust at Brevic's drug addiction, and how he betrayed his army unit in exchange for drug money. If Niko kills Brevic, Niko will hesitate for a moment before unloading 12 shots into Brevic's body uncontrollably, even after Brevic's death after about the sixth shot. Niko almost always refuses alcohol when it is offered to him. Niko does seem to enjoy a drink, but knows the time and place for it. He refuses alcohol outright in instances where he needs to keep a sharp mind, such as during missions. Niko has brown hair and hazel eyes. He has facial hair that resembles a "scruffy" looking 5 o'clock shadow, which fits his 'thug' appearance very well. Niko isn't as heavily muscled. Still, Niko has enough physical strength to hold his own in a fistfight and he's capable of pulling himself up on a ledge after hanging by his straight arms. He is also strong enough to twist an average person's arm with ease. Several characters throughout the story call Niko "big guy" or "big man", which likely means that he is of tall stature and/or heavy build. Niko has a scar running through his left brow. He most likely got the scar during the war, however, this has not been confirmed. Niko's body is of 'average' build, but characters like Bernie Crane mention that "Niko is still in great shape." People consider him to be "above average" build despite his slender appearance.