Infernal Affairs is one of the best Hong Kong flicks I've ever seen. It was so good in fact that they remade it into 'The Departed', one of the best American movies for years.

The directors obviously knew they had something good on their hands, and the story and actors are something to behold. They manage to make you feel as though you saw an action packed thrill ride when in reality very few scenes in the picture I would actually consider action-packed. The movie builds up intensity and emotional connections with the characters throughout the entire picture, engulfing you into their world and trying to even grasp what it would be like living either of the two main characters' lives.

The two main characters (for those who haven't seen The Departed) are undercover agents, one for the police who is in a gang, and the other as a mole in the police for the gang. They are borh working against each other in each other's departments and are both chosen by their heads to find the mole, which is of course themselves.

To even imagine what it would be like being a cop undercover in numerous illegal rackets where being found out would certainly mean death (for over 10 years) is what the audience is attacked with. Rather than a bunch of senseless action, which would have been more than easy to include in the picture they would rather give you more of a mental trip and actually have the audience think than be bombarded by the same scenes other movies have already done hundreds of times over. It was no wonder that Scorsese would want to make a picture like this, as he himself has made classic crime pictures such as Goodfellas and to reinvent a quickly dying genre with a new twist is exactly what it needed.

There are a few twists and I would personally have been disappointed by the ending if it wasn't something outside the box and original. The climax of the picture is simply very depressing in my opinion and you kind of wonder what morality they are trying to convey by ending it the way that they do, but I respect their decision and it certainly takes you by surprise which is usually a good thing.

This is one of the best flicks I've seen in a while and has many elements which comprise my reason for watching films, so I recommend it to anyone who has an open mind for subtitles and wants to see how 'The Departed' got its idea.