Niko Bellic

Niko Bellic is the main protagonist from the Grand Theft Auto IV game.

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 Yugoslav 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 and nearly killed him during the Wars. Niko is the younger cousin of Roman Bellic and the son of Milica Bellic.

Appearance
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 as Luis or Johnny and he's more slender than both of them. 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 Brucie'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." Later, Bernie asks if Niko works out, to which Niko answers he doesn't work out but his dangerous lifestyle keeps him active. People consider him to be "above average" build despite his slender appearance.

Personality
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 indiscrete 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 He is withdrawn among strangers, but has good manners, and shows a softer side with love interests like Kate McReary and Michelle.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, much like Carl Johnson and Victor Vance. 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, a conversation between Niko and Kiki Jenkins reveals he considers himself neither liberal nor conservative, and that the war gave him a highly cynical view of politicians in general.

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 figures from his past, such as Darko Brevic. If Niko kills Brevic, Niko will hesitate for a moment before unloading 12 shots (one for every member of Niko's army unit who was killed) into Brevic's body uncontrollably, even after Brevic's death after about the sixth shot. The only other figure that has visibly disturbed Niko is Eddie Low, who Niko is understandably creeped out by. This can even horrify the player to an extent, such as when Low makes comments about all the people he has murdered in gruesome ways, or Low's clinginess towards Niko for being his 'friend'. During his encounters with Low, Niko's eyebrows are raised and his mouth is open in disbelief. Otherwise, Niko's face is usually very serious.

Niko almost always refuses alcohol when it is offered to him (he asks for water in the mission Ivan The Not So Terrible) except for the mission The Holland Play where Playboy X pours him a glass. Niko goes to drink it, but changes his mind and puts the glass on a table. There is a scene where Niko does drink a glass of vodka (on the rocks) in the mission One Last Thing, while talking to Jimmy Pegorino, but this is understandable considering what he had just been through. 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.

Without the player's control, Niko will never hit female pedestrians. For example, when Niko carjacks someone, the animation can sometimes see him punch or kick the occupant of the car, but he only does this to male drivers. If the driver is female, Niko will just pull her out of the car and not harm her.

Abilities

 * Military Training: Niko spent years in the army, and therefore has a very high level of military training as well as an excellent body condition.
 * Survival skills: his military training allow him to survive in the most hostile environment, including urban areas, which is very useful in the concreted Liberty City and its large buildings.
 * Nigh-infinite stamina: Niko is one of the few characters, alongside Luis Fernando Lopez and Johnny Klebitz, who can indefinitely run, no matter what weapon he's carrying. This allows him to outrun most of the enemies as well as most cops who are in bad physical condition. Niko can also swim for several in-game hours (i.e. several real-life minutes), although he'll drown if he swims for too long.
 * Speed: although not the fastest character from the Grand Theft Auto franchise, he's still faster than most of the characters (including Johnny Klebitz).
 * Durability: he has a high level of tolerance for pain and therefore can sustain several shots before dying.
 * Strenght: although not the strongest character from the Grand Theft Autos franchise, Niko has a significant amount of strength, superior to most of the characters.
 * Reflexes of steal: he has fast reflexes. For instance, he manages to dodge Eddie Low's hit when the latter tried to slay him. However, his reflexes are flawed, as Andrei successfully manages to surprise Niko from behind and knock him out with a shotgun. (Although Andrei is the only character to have successfully did this.)
 * Deadly hand-to-hand fighter: Niko is shown to be a formidable fighter.
 * Enhanced equilibrium: Niko has an enhanced equilibrium, which allow him to stay in place and aiming even if getting shot. Only a few selected characters in the GTA IV-era (including very few NPC encountered during the game and the others protagonists Luis Lopez and Johnny Klebitz) have this ability.
 * Marksmanship: Niko is a deadly shooter. He knows how to use every gun of the game and can defeat countless armed thugs or even highly trained forces such as NOOSE's teams with slight efforts.
 * Commandment: Niko has an intense charisma which allows him to command his allies even in the worst of cases. For instance, he convinces the team during the Liberty City Bank's robbing to go into the subway in order to lose the police. However, he is not a control freak, and often refer to his bosses or allies.
 * Enhanced driving/piloting skills: he can drive every kind of vehicles, boats and even helicopters, and also do drive-by while doing so.
 * Persuasion, deception and manipulation: even if he does not like this (unlike his nemesis Dimitri), Niko is a master manipulator and can trick his enemies in order to kill them easily. An instance is when he kills Francis/Derrick, and then hide the truth to Packie (and the McReary's family).
 * Robbing skills: during the robbery, he was a precise, very efficient and cold-blooded raider.
 * Fearlessness: Niko has pretty much fear of nobody. The only person he fears could be the serial killer Eddie Low.

Trivia

 * Niko is referenced in an episode of the TV Series Criminal Minds. In the episode, a missing child is reported as being named "Niko Bellic". The senior agent Rossi immediately catches on: "Niko Bellic is the name of the main character of Grand Theft Auto IV". His co-workers stare at him in disbelief, to which he replies, "What? I know things".
 * Niko has unique quotes for when failing missions. He will say things like "Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!" or "Roman, I should have never read your fucking emails and stayed away!". Based on some of his comments, Niko seems to blame the country for failing missions.
 * According to some dialogue, many characters think Niko is a sociopath. This however was not proven, but it is debatable because of how Niko -- at least until his phone call with Roman after Pest Control -- seems to show no remorse whatsoever for all his murders. This is most likely untrue as Niko is shown to have a firm grasp of right and wrong pertaining to some of his more morally questionable actions. It is much more likely that Niko is indifferent to bloodshed given his violent upbringing.
 * Niko had a childhood crush on a girl from his village, named Mila Tadic. Roman will confirm this during friend activities.
 * Vladimir Glebov calls Niko "yokel" multiple times in the game. 'Yokel' is a slang term for people who grow up in rural areas.
 * Niko was a reckless driver before he even left his home country, as Roman comments that he is still a crazy driver. When destroying Roman's cab during Easy Fare, Roman will joke on how Niko always blows up normal cars but doesn't crash "the tanks from back home".
 * In a conversation with Manny Escuela during Escuela of the Streets, he claims that he stalked a woman in Europe (and knows the right distance to keep behind the target vehicle). The reason for this is never stated, but he could've been joking.
 * One of Niko's girlfriends, Alexandra Chilton, frequently reveals on her blog that Niko has a very large penis, comments refer to his "bulging package" and how "well-hung" he is. After Niko sleeps with her for the first time, she writes on her blog that she is to discuss this with her friends, Heidi and Paige. Alex also comments that he can be rough and kinky, including a session where he "bullfrogged" her over a washing machine, which she recorded and spanked her with a frying pan, among others. She also writes how she once had to steam clean her whole flat after he left. Alex wonders if all Europeans are like that, which also ties in with Niko's cousin, Roman, and his attitude towards sex, as someone is often on the prowl for young college girls.
 * Niko is seen a couple times on the commercial for VIP Luxury Ringtones. As he is seen wearing a yellow Perseus jacket, the Russian cap from the Russian Shop, and a pair of white sunglasses, which never made it into the game.
 * Apparently, Niko was arrested in 2008 for Grand Theft Auto; this is a nod to when GTA IV was released and obviously a nod to the title of the series.
 * His file will remain in the database even if the player goes the whole game without getting arrested at all.
 * In GTA V, one can find a wanted poster for Niko on a table near a trailer in the Grand Senora Desert.
 * Niko's favorite radio stations are Liberty Rock Radio and Vladivostok FM. Niko also will comment on any radio station the player choose while in a taxi, saying it's great music. Niko also mentions that he "likes rap a bit", but is not a "crazy fan" during Pathos' random encoutner. During friendship activities with Little Jacob, Niko mentions that "this city has some powerful music", and tells Jacob that he likes Bobby Konders, the DJ on Massive B Soundystem. However, Niko's favorite station will ultimately be down to the player.
 * After stealing money from the cash registers found in various places around Liberty City, there will be a delay before Niko says something like "forgive me" for stealing the cash.
 * In GTA V, inside the Yellow Jack Inn, one can find a picture that appears to be Niko driving a Tow Truck.
 * Niko is the most combat-trained protagonist of the entire series at the start of a game.
 * In GTA V, a homeless man can be found holding a sign that begs for money and it says that "some Serbian men" robbed him, this could be a reference to Niko.
 * The surname Belić is derived from the word "belo", which means "white" in the Serbo-Croatian languages; if Niko's name is directly translated into English, it would be "Nicholas White".
 * Lester Crest's mention of Niko "going quiet" could be a reference to Niko's voice actor Michael Hollick's dispute with Rockstar Games, which likely means he will never do the voice of Niko again.