Unit 7 has a tough assignment: to clean the most dangerous drug trafficking networks out of the city and bring an end to the corrosive power that has taken hold of the streets. A detail of four, the unit is led by Ángel (Mario Casas), a young officer aspiring to detective, and Rafael (Antonio de la Torre), a violent, arrogant yet efficient cop.
Eight men eat breakfast at a Los Angeles diner before their planned diamond heist, most of them unknown to each other. Six of them use aliases: Mr. Blonde, Mr. Blue, Mr. Brown, Mr. Orange, Mr. Pink, and Mr. White. With them are mob boss Joe Cabot, the organizer of the heist, and his son/underboss, "Nice Guy" Eddie Cabot. During the course of the film, the major characters are sporadically introduced by subtitles (e.g., "Mr. White") and their character backstories are explored in subsequent, non-linear fashion.
The movie begins as the two-year term expires, and all the elders of the Wo Shing society are in the process of electing a new chairman, with some last-minute "campaigning" from both Lok, and Big D a few days prior to the election. Lok is shown to be calm, patient and even-tempered, while Big D, who attempts to buy the election, is boisterous, impatient and quick tempered. After bitter arguments from supporters of both candidates in the likes of Uncle Cocky and Uncle Monk, Lok is elected as the new chairman. However, Big D is dismayed by the result and proceeds to punish two men responsible for his loss by kidnapping them and rolling them down a hill in boxes, prompting ex-chairman Whistle to ask his lieutenant Four-Eye to hide the dragon head baton, which is a symbol of power for the leader.
In the 1960s, Richard Kuklinski (Michael Shannon) marries Deborah (Winona Ryder) and the couple have two daughters. However, Kuklinski keeps secrets from his family. He works dubbing pornographic films which he then supplies to a mob operated syndicate, but he tells his family that he dubs Disney cartoons. Kuklinski is also deeply troubled. The subject of brutal beatings he received as a boy from his immigrant Polish father, Kuklinski is an emotionally disturbed and intensely violent man. In one instance a man insults him after a game of pool. Kuklinski follows the man to his car and murders him by quickly slashing his throat.
Lok is now holding his position as triad chairman of the Wo Shing society unthreatened in Hong Kong. As his two-year term expires, a new chairman election nears, but Lok contemplates breaking tradition, attempting to seek re-election. At the same time, Jimmy is trying to escape Wo Shing by building a legitimate business empire in mainland China. When he is arrested in an illegal financial trade with a government official for the building of a new logisitics center and highway, the section chief of the Public Security Bureau forbids him to re-enter the mainland to do business, unless he becomes Wo Shing's next chairman. Reluctant, but forced to accept the reality he can never truly exit the triad, Jimmy enters into the election nomination, with Jet and Kun also seeking the chairman position.
In 1960, Danny Greene is a union worker at the Cleveland docks. Despite union rules, the workers are exploited by their boss, Jerry. As a result of gambling, Art owes a large amount of money to John Nardi. He asks Greene for help, so Greene visits Nardi and makes him an offer to deal with the debt. Nardi accepts the deal. Jerry warns Greene not to oppose him in the union's upcoming election, and demands half of what Greene has earned from his deal with Nardi. After failing to kill Greene, Jerry loses the union's election. As the new president, Greene improves the working conditions at the docks. He also marries his girlfriend Joan.
Depuis sa maison de retraite, Frank Sheeran se remémore sa vie. Vétéran de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, « The Irishman » officie à Philadelphie comme chauffeur de camion dans les années 1950. Accusé de vol, il est défendu par l'avocat Bill Bufalino. Ce dernier lui présente son cousin, Russell Bufalino. Frank se lie rapidement avec Russell et se rapproche peu à peu de la mafia italienne locale. Il devient un homme à tout faire et un tueur à gages efficace. Russell lui présente alors l'un des hommes les plus puissants des États-Unis, Jimmy Hoffa, président du puissant syndicat International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
À la fin des années 1930, Al Capone est libéré sous caution après huit ans de prison pour fraude fiscale. Atteint de neurosyphilis, le gangster est très mal en point, physiquement et mentalement, malgré sa quarantaine passée. Il sombre en pleine démence, également hanté par son passé.
Small-time criminals Caesar Enrico "Rico" Bandello (Edward G. Robinson) and his friend Joe Massara (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) move to Chicago to seek their fortunes. Rico joins the gang of Sam Vettori (Stanley Fields), while Joe wants to be a dancer. Olga (Glenda Farrell) becomes his dance partner and girlfriend.
In 1920s Chicago, Italian immigrant Antonio "Tony" Camonte (Paul Muni) acts on the orders of Italian mafioso John "Johnny" Lovo (Osgood Perkins) and kills "Big" Louis Costillo (Harry J. Vejar), the leading crime boss of the city's South Side. Johnny then takes control of the South Side with Tony as his key lieutenant, selling large amounts of illegal beer to speakeasies and muscling in on bars run by rival outfits. However, Johnny repeatedly warns Tony not to mess with the Irish gangs led by O'Hara who runs the North Side. Tony soon starts ignoring these orders, shooting up bars belonging to O'Hara, and attracting the attention of the police and rival gangsters. Johnny realizes that Tony is out of control and has ambitions to take his position.
The film's protagonist is Victor "Vic" Kelly (Christopher Walken), a struggling auto mechanic with a safe-cracking past and a lot of debt. When a supposed cousin from Ireland visits Vic, the alleged cousin sabotages one of Vic's auto repair jobs, to ensure Vic's desperation and participation in the robbery scheme introduced to Vic by neighborhood resident Pat (Donal Logue).
As youngsters, Tom Powers (James Cagney) and his lifelong friend Matt Doyle (Edward Woods) engage in petty theft, selling their loot to "Putty Nose" (Murray Kinnell). When the pair are young men, Putty Nose persuades them to join his gang on a fur warehouse robbery, assuring them he will take care of them if anything goes wrong. When Tom is startled by a stuffed bear, he shoots it, alerting the police, who kill gang member Larry Dalton. Chased by a cop, Tom and Matt have to gun him down. However, when they go to Putty Nose for help, they find he has left town.
Set in Port Talbot & Swansea, the Lewis "twins" of the title are not twins but brothers. They live with their parents and sister Adie in a caravan on a mobile home site. Constantly mocking their sister's employment at a local massage parlour, they spend most of their time joking around, taking drugs and stealing cars.
À sa sortie de prison, Johan Westlund (Joel Kinnaman), un vendeur de cocaïne suédois, tente de reprendre les affaires de son ennemi Slovovic (Dragomir Mrsic)...