This is a serious downer of a movie. In a family of cops, one son (Joaquin Phoenix) tries to break away and develop his own life. Bobby works at a nightclub which is owned by Russians. Turns out they're Russian drug dealers.
After his brother, Joe (Mark Wahlberg), arrests one of the Russians, the family is targeted. There are shootouts, chase scenes, betrayals by friends and loved ones, it's just ugly. Lots of people die and the drugs keep coming.
Robert Duvall plays the dad. With these three as the family, the acting is good, but the dialog is not. In this script the brothers are poorly developed - one the good brother, the other the rebel. Both compete for dad's attention, but he's so joyless I have no idea why they do. The only person who blew me away here was Eva Mendes as Bobby's girlfriend. This gal should be in more movies, and should get better roles. The good acting makes the mediocre script and dialog stand out.
If you like cop / gangster films, this one is a decent rental. But the dialog. Not cool.
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