In this review branes of string theory are described from three different perspectives: as endpoints of open strings, as supergravity backgrounds with BPS properties, as dynamical objects with gauge invariant actions. Based on these descriptions various effects of brane interactions are reviewed: brane bound states, Hanany—Witten and Myers effects, supertubes. The review is based on the lecture course given at MIPT for MSc students and aims at MSc and PhD students already familiar with the standard course in perturbative string theory.