Premiere Elements is a stable program for a good price. Will your project be HD or SD? Burning a DVD? If so, then I recommend the project be Widescreen SD. The WS DVD will uprez nicely on an HD TV. For 4x3 old video, I place on track 2 with track 1 a copy upscaled, blurred and lower opacity to fill in the sides. Or you could use a color matte or leave black. Determine your project size first and then resize the photos slightly larger to allow for pans/zooms.
Keep in mind that SD video cannot be upsized to HD size.
I've made many growing up montages and a through the years for an anniversary. Chronological order usually works best. You could add titles or graphics that would relate to your brother.
How long of a presentation? It may be good to divide the material into sections...early years, school years, etc. Place the media into separate folders.
Interviews with family members telling a fond remembrance would be a nice touch. You could cut away to an old photo that relates to their story. That breaks up the talking head segments.
Good luck with the project! Glad to help with any questions. I'll check back here, but welcome to send me a pm. I am not on the forum often.